Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt
by starofjustice
Summary: Liss Decker's felt like the world's been out to get her for years. But when she finds herself the owner of an artifact that gives her awesome powers, she doesn't just feel like it and it's not just her own world anymore. As she fights to save her own world and the Sphere from the evil Mythos, she also finds herself facing the most fearsome enemy of all: herself.
1. Chapter 1: In the Cards

Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt – Reading One: In the Cards

Disclaimer: I don't own or make any claim of ownership of the Kamen Rider series. Kamen Rider Tarock and its characters belong to me, and may not be used without express permission. But don't be afraid to ask. I also don't necessarily share the beliefs of any character in my stories, and in the case of the ones in this story, don't necessarily endorse anything they do.

Author's Note: Interested in commissioning some artwork this story. Please contact if interested.

Roger was the first one to notice that day.

Unfortunately for him, he was the slowest security guard on campus.

She had broken away from the crowd filing through the front doors and was only fifty feet from the curb when his cry of rage exploded across the lawn of Samuel Archer High School. He took off as she bent forward to go into a sprint, and he knew that if she got a chance to take off, the chase was already over.

An old blue car, probably a late student, came speeding across the street in front of the school, right across her path. She didn't slow down at all, and Roger stopped and gaped at what he was sure was a vehicular homicide about to happen.

Seeing the girl about to jump into his path, the driver slammed on the brakes. She didn't stop, instead she jumped, slid across the hood of the car and automatically went into another run down an alley. Roger sighed and leaned against the fence.

Damn that kid. The only reason she waited until she was actually on campus to make a break for it was to make him and the other guards look that much worse. He was tempted to go over the vice principal's head and just let the cops take it from there.

She ran for another three blocks, weaving through the alleys, then got to another alley blocked by an old chain link fence. She climbed onto a stack of boxes next to it, jumped the fence, somersaulted as she landed and sprinted another block down to Marks Street, the one that ran next to the empty old culvert.

Everything was quiet. She knew better than to think she was home free yet, though. Somebody chasing her might've gone around the building to cut her off. Cautiously she looked around the side of the old brick building, but no one was in sight. She ran down the side of the culvert to a place where the fence was sagging and slid down the slanted surface to the bottom. Still running, she made it to the first overpass where the road crossed the culvert, and finally stopped to catch her breath.

It was only then that she truly noticed how cool the day was, or how thick the sheet of gray covering the sky. She'd been so focused on her need to spend a day anywhere but listening to a string of boring teachers, nothing else had really entered her mind except the details of her escape plan.

Looked like it was a good day; they'd given up quickly. The second time she'd had to run even farther than that. Maybe after the chewing out her parents had given the vice principal they'd decided it wasn't worth that AND making an honest effort to catch her and bring her back too.

Heh, Liss Decker. Truant officer's worst nightmare, huh?

Still, just because they'd abandoned the chase didn't mean it was over. They might've called the cops, and hell if she was going to be dragged back by anyone before she was damn good and ready for it.

But there was safe haven nearby. She just had to be on her toes until she got there.

A car passed right then and she ducked back into the shadows until it was gone. Once the coast was clear she clambered onto the ledge and up the slope on the other side of the culvert, climbed over the safety railing and took off down the street again. Another two uneventful blocks and she passed an old, low brick building with a new illuminated sign hanging out over the street. "Decker Engines," it read.

That was the place.

After checking one last time to be sure no one was following, Liss pushed open the front door and slipped inside. The front room had definitely seen better days. There was a desk with an old computer on it in one corner and across from it were a pair of battered chairs with a small table between them with a pair of car magazines on it. They were only a few months old but were still thoroughly torn and dog-eared. And suspended off the ground facing the door was a TV with a flickering screen.

"Be right there!" someone called from the next room. A second later a woman just a few years older than Liss entered the front room. She had short dark hair and wore a set of coveralls that had probably been green once, but were now closer to gray. Grease smudged her hands and face, which immediately went cold as she recognized the intruder in her business. "Liss, what the hell do you think you're doing here?"

Liss settled into one of the chairs and picked up one of the magazines. "Had another fight with mom and dad this morning. Didn't feel like school after that."

"What is this, your second time?" the woman sighed.

"Third," Liss said with just a bit of a grin.

"When did you get like this? Last year you hadn't skipped a day of school in your life. And if you think this-"

"Oh, stop trying to baby me, Paige," Liss interrupted. "Look at you. You're doing all right."

Paige crossed her arms over her chest. "Because I learned how to do something that'd let me earn a living."

"And I just told you, I'm not up for trying to learn today. Maybe mom shoulda thought of that before biting my head off in front of the whole family again," Liss retorted.

"I should call her and let her know you came here to hide out."

"…except you know she doesn't answer when she knows it's you calling anymore," Liss reminded her. Unnecessarily. She started to glance through the magazine again but a dirty rag landed on her face.

"Oh no you don't, punk," Paige glared at her. "If you're spending the day here, you're here to work. Got it?"

Liss picked the rag off her face and nodded. That was more like it.

They went into the garage and Paige got to work on a beat-up old truck that had been brought in. Liss handed over the tools Paige asked for, and listened while Paige explained what was what and what the probable causes were of the problems it had been brought in for. And despite Liss's claims not to be in the mood to learn, Paige didn't fail to notice how Liss wasn't missing anything about which part was which and what connected to what to make it all go.

Finally, Paige let them take a break to wipe the last few hours' worth of grime off their hands and faces. While Liss was still staring at the inside of a rag, she felt Paige slip a wad of bills into her pocket.

"Go get us something to eat," Paige commanded. "Keep mine light this time."

Liss didn't move. "So when are you gonna show me what you're working on?" she asked, pointing at something hidden under a dirty sheet in the corner of the garage.

"Lunch!" Paige bellowed. "Or you get to scrub out the toilet!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" Liss protested and scrambled out the front door. Once she was out on the sidewalk and heading for that Mexican restaurant a few blocks down, Liss smiled a little. This was nothing like what she had to look forward to at home. At least, nowhere near as malicious. And that was on a fairly good day that she was thinking about. When they heard she not only cut school but actually got away from a security guard…

All at once, Liss stopped walking. Something wasn't right.

But what? She'd been down this way to see Paige before, and everything was exactly the same as it had been those other times. There was the boarded-up gas station on the corner, and the ratty bar with no parking lot across from it that hadn't opened yet. There were only a few people on the streets, mostly ragged homeless folk and a few matrons hurrying home from the Vietnamese grocery before it got dark enough for the gang members to come slithering out of the shadows.

She looked again, and the concrete walls of the run-down buildings seemed somehow more gray than usual. The colors on the flashing "open" signs on the few stores on the block that operated in the day time seemed less stark against her surroundings. And there looked to be a strange ripple on the edge of her vision that was gone when she tried to focus on it.

Liss started walking again, noticing for the first time how loud every step she took was, and how thick the quiet of the street was. She couldn't hear any cars or barking dogs anywhere, and suddenly she couldn't remember if that had always been the case around there, or not.

Faster, she started to walk. For a second she thought about running back to the garage and talking to Paige, to see if she noticed the sudden strangeness, but then thought differently. The urge to get where she was going was stronger, like a pull she could only barely feel but knew she and even though it sounded moronic, Liss had the feeling that when she did she'd find the answer…

She tried to keep calm and walk normally, but with each step the feeling, the need to get where she was going became stronger. Then, Liss couldn't wait anymore, and she sprinted for the end of the block.

As she ran, it felt as if she was running through water. Liss could feel eyes on her from everywhere, like the decision to break and run had made whatever was causing this aware that she knew it was there. She pushed harder but moved even slower. The rippling wasn't something she could barely seem from the corner of her eye anymore, now it was encroaching around her vision so much it was hard to see her surroundings anymore. Still Liss kept going. If only she could get to the end of the street before this closed in completely, she might be able to—

Then suddenly it was gone and Liss lurched forward, landing hard on her chest on the sidewalk. And she wasn't alone. Beside her was a short but hulking figure clad from head to toe in black with red armor on top, which was torn open around the base of his helmet. Inside she could see pale blue skin, marred by a pair of dark puncture marks that he reached up with a shaking, two-fingered hand to touch.

He sat up with an effort and scooped up a sword almost as tall as Liss with his other hand, even though it shook as badly as his other hand, and indeed his whole body as he got to his feet and looked around for something.

Liss dashed behind the corner of a low concrete wall surrounding the Mexican place to assess the situation. The guy in the armor, who looked like some kind of knight to her, was turning around in a circle, looking for something, but he looked right at and past Liss without seeming to see her at all. Of course not, he was looking for whatever made those bite marks on his neck…

Suddenly, the air was filled with a hideous scream as something huge and green shot out from between two buildings across the street. It slammed into the guy with the sword and knocked him clean through the wall of the restaurant. From inside she could hear yells of panic and the sounds of something big collapsing. Whatever had crashed into that guy had hit him pretty hard.

But it didn't follow to finish the job. Instead it whipped around to stare at Liss with four eyes the color of blood.

It was some kind of weird cross between a person and a spider. The lower half was the spider part. Mostly. It was a bulbous sphere covered in dark green fur, with eight powerful-looking legs emerging from it. Or rather, six powerful-looking legs. The front two on the side closer to Liss had been chopped off at the first joint. Just like the arm on the human-looking torso sprouting from the front of its body.

It was at least twelve feet tall at the top of its head, and just as wide from front to back.

The spider's eyes blinked at her and it snorted, not contemptuously but as if sizing what kind of threat Liss and its surroundings presented. It turned toward the building it had knocked its opponent into…then suddenly lunged at Liss.

But she wasn't where she'd been anymore. By the time the spider managed to turn around Liss had darted around the corner of the restaurant. The, because that was how Liss was starting to think of him, had staggered back through the whole in the wall, but his hands quivered even more than before as he held up his sword.

The blade glowed faintly, but it hurt Liss's eyes to look with the way it shook in his hands. "Bladestorm!" he yelled in a rumbling voice as the spider scrambled awkwardly but terrifying speed at him with the legs it still had. He raised the sword at the spider and all of a sudden the wind started to pick up, then brought the sword down in front of him in a vertical slash. The glow from the sword flowed from the tip and transformed into a stream of small knives as the sword came down, and the daggers shot toward the spider. They exploded as they made impact, and the spider screeched, but just kept on coming.

The knight lifted his sword to attack again but the spider was practically on top of him by then. Liss turned to run for her life, and everything seemed to move in slow motion all of a sudden. The the spider shrieked and pinned the knight to what was left of the wall between two of its legs. He tried to stab at it, but the spider bit down hard on his neck, and he screamed and struggled feebly. The sword bounced harmlessly off the spider's side.

The spider seized the knight by the throat with its one remaining human arm, and the arachnid legs that had been holding him in place rose up and stabbed down into him. He gurgled as the pointed foot impaled him through the chest and the other gouged into his waist, right through his belt strap…

…and as Liss took the first step, something landed in front of her. It was the knight's belt buckle, and the top of something dark red and rectangular had slid halfway out of a slot on top.

Liss bent down to pick it, but looked over as a strangled cry cut the air. The knight slumped back in the spider's grasp, but now his armor was gone and she could see more blue skin through the tatters of the black outfit he'd had underneath. Then with a sudden spasm, he just disintegrated into strands of blue light that in another second were completely gone.

Its prey seen off, the spider looked. It spotted Liss standing over the buckle.

Then it pounced.

* * *

Next time on Kamen Rider Tarock…

Liss: What the hell's going on? Monsters?! Is this some kind of stupid joke?

(The spider covers an entire building with its web, and Liss is caught in the strands as it crawls toward her)

Female Voice: Mistress, I have bad news. A new Tarock has been appointed. An outsider.

(Liss examines the strange device with a crystal ball lodged in the center and a bright red card)

Male Voice: Fascinating…I believe this is what they call a "game-changer."

(Liss, now clad in red and black armor, raises a giant sword high)

Narrator: Your fate is in your hands.


	2. Chapter 2: Young Blade

Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt – Reading Two: Young Blade

Disclaimer: I don't own or make any claim of ownership of the Kamen Rider series. Kamen Rider Tarock and its characters belong to me, and may not be used without express permission. But don't be afraid to ask. I also don't necessarily share the beliefs of any character in my stories, and in the case of the ones in this story, don't necessarily endorse anything they do.

Author's Note: I'm thinking of commissioning some artwork for this story. Please PM if interested.

The sun seemed to have gone out for a second that refused to end. Liss screamed as a wave of terror ran up her body, but then scooped up the buckle and ran for all her legs were worth.

Behind her she heard the spider scream and the uneven thumping as it started to chase her, but Liss was already thinking of the nearest escape route. She slipped between two old cars and kicked out a pair of cinderblocks at the bottom of the back wall of an old warehouse, then dropped to her stomach and crawled through as quickly as she could, ignoring the gravely digging against her stomach as she went.

As soon as she was inside she could hear smashing as they were overturned by the spider. As fast as she could, Liss ran and jumped for a length of old chain hanging from the roof of the building. She clambered up the chain, awkwardly because the buckle was in one hand, but once she was high enough started to swing back and forth and then let go, jumping for a walkway. She landed, crawled into a small hole in the wall. She pulled a small crate against the opening and squeezed herself into the smallest ball she could manage, hugging the buckle up against her stomach.

There was a terrific roar and the walkway shook horribly. Liss took a deep breath and held as still as she could. For a minute she heard the spider skittering around on the floor of the warehouse before things went silent. Liss was about to peek out and see if it was still there, then froze.

She could hear the sounds of its feet…on the ceiling. The spider hissed in frustration, probably having enough of a brain to know people didn't just disappear into thin air. Then, suddenly the crate covering her hiding place exploding, pelting her with splinters. One lodged in her cheek like a tiny spear, but Liss held silent.

A chill ran up her spine. Something was tapping against the wall behind her, and Liss turned her head just far enough to see it was the tip of one long, spindly spider leg. It scrabbled around feeling for her, and coming within inches of her back. It paused for a second, and Liss allowed herself a moment of hope that it was about to give up and leave.

Then without warning it gouged into the corner where she was huddled, scraping the skin off a strip of her shoulder. Liss clenched her teeth but managed to stay quiet as she lay quivering in pain and fear. After an eternity passed, but was probably more like thirty seconds, the leg pulled back from Liss's hiding place. It scuttled down the wall and then out of the warehouse again, but it wasn't until Liss had counted to two hundred she dared to look out and make sure she was really alone.

After leaning over the walkway to assure herself, Liss stumbled to the other end where an empty office still stood, and collapsed into the rolling chair that was the only thing still there. With quivering hands she set down the buckle and reached into her inside pocket for the cigarettes her family knew nothing about. She hadn't found it nearly as cool to inhale smoke as she thought she would, and she'd catch hell if she still smelled like them by the time she got home, but right then steadying her nerves was the only thing on Liss's mind.

She settled one of the cancer sticks between her lips and lit the end. She took a deep puff and her throat burned, but the jitters from her ordeal did start to go away. Inhaling again, her hands stopped quivering enough for her to pull the splinters out of her skin and then pull out the knight's buckle.

It was a mostly rectangular shape of dull gray metal, with a transparent half-sphere in the middle, although looking at it from directly above all Liss could see was pure blackness. A curved inlay of what looked like brass arced outward from where the sphere was inserted toward the edges of the buckle. Despite looking like solid metal, it surprised Liss by feeling like it weighed almost nothing. She was pretty sure she could throw it a couple hundred feet if she tried.

Liss took out the card next that had slipped from the slot atop the buckle. If anything, it was even stranger. It looked like a piece of red plastic, but it had the feel of metal against her fingers instead. Engraved on the front was an image in gold a sword, with a matching golden border around the edges of the card.

Interesting stuff, but how did it work? She tried putting the card back into the slot in the buckle, but it sat there with the top quarter sticking out. Liss pushed it in all the way, but it sprang back out and stayed there as soon as she moved her hand away. Something very, very weird was going on, but Liss knew better than to say anything before she could prove it.

At least, to say anything to most people. After waiting another few minutes to assure herself the spider was really gone, Liss slipped out of the building.

Slowly, peering into every shadow expecting to see the spider watching for her, she started making her way back to the garage. Hearing a set of police sirens, coming to investigate the destruction of the restaurant no doubt, she kept to the back streets. A minute later the familiar empty lot with the tall weeds behind Paige's garage came into sight. She was about to start toward it when suddenly a wave of cold ran up her arm.

Alarmed, Liss glanced down and noticed a dark green stain on the cuff of her jacket and the back of her hand. She scratched at it with her fingernails, but instead of coming off Liss was sure she could feel it seeping into her skin. As it did the feeling of cold intensified until Liss yelped and sank to her knees. A hint of movement on the deserted back street caught her eye, and Liss turned, sure she could see the face of the spider monster looking back at her from the shadow between two buildings.

"Are you all right, Miss?" someone asked all of a sudden. It was a scruffy-looking boy a few years older than Liss, who had on a shirt with Ine Smith Tech's logo underneath his jacket. His hair and the bristles on his chin were a sandy blond. The feeling of cold on her shot through her whole body. Then, suddenly, it was gone and she had the strength to get back up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Elbow's just acting up again," Liss lied.

"You okay? You need any help?" he asked. "We can't stick around here, it's not safe."

"And why isn't it safe?"

He squinted at her. "No, you're definitely that girl I saw when the big spider smashed up Pepe's a little while ago," he said. "You woulda got killed if that guy in the red suit didn't show up!"

"I'm pretty quick," Liss said as she sized him up. He seemed fairly harmless, but on the other hand that made him totally out of place in a part of town as rough as the one where Paige worked. He hadn't really seen the monster attack and followed her all those blocks just to make sure she was okay, had he? Who would do something like that?

"I guess so!" he laughed. "So what's your name?"

"…Liss."

He gaped and took a step closer. "Not THE Liss?"

She sighed and clenched her jacket tighter so he couldn't see the buckle and card. "Quit screwing with me," Liss grunted.

"Okay, okay, I haven't actually heard of you," he smirked, then extended his hand. "My name's Frank."

She didn't accept it. "Nice to meet you."

Frank didn't seem affected by her standoffishness. "We should probably find a place to lay low for a while, that spider thing must still be around here somewhere."

"Thanks, but I can take care of myself," Liss replied. There was a cold tingle on her arm again, and her eyes went wide as she spotted the spider monster scuttling onto the roof of the building next to Paige's garage. "Oh god, come on!" Liss shouted and ran as fast as she could. What was around that she could hide in? The old theater!

But as Liss hurdled the first fence on the way over she heard a gasp and grunt and glanced over her shoulder to see Frank landing on top of the fence on his waist. He slumped forward and landed on the ground on his back.

Liss grabbed his arm and hauled him up, then ran off again shaking her head in disgust the first few steps. Frank stumbled after her with all the grace of someone having a seizure. He followed as she made her way to an old wooden door that had fallen off its hinges and lifted it just enough to slip through. Frank yanked it out of the way and left it against the wall on the other side, and Liss had to run over and drag it back into place.

"Don't you know anything?!" she almost screamed. "Do you want it to see us?"

"Excuse me!" he whispered curtly. "I'm not exactly an expert on the rules for being chased by giant freaking SPIDERS!"

"How about just thinking on your feet when you're in trouble?" Liss retorted but then pulled herself back, took a deep breath and listened. The roof trembled and a fountain of concrete dust fell right on top of her head as the spider scrambled onto the building. She had to clench her eyes shut to keep from sneezing, but not letting herself look like the dumb one in front of this guy added an extra incentive that helped her hold it in. What seemed like hours later, she could distantly hear the spider shriek in frustration and trundle off along the rooftops.

Frank started to say something but Liss clapped a hand over his mouth and waited a minute before going to peer out the door and make sure the spider wasn't just hanging around waiting for a target. Not seeing any green, twelve-foot arachnids anywhere in sight, she slipped back inside and heave a sigh of relief. The cut on her shoulder was starting to ache as she came down from her adrenaline rush, and Liss began to ask herself in earnest what was going on.

Until the spider gouged her shoulder she'd been thinking maybe she'd actually gone to school and fallen asleep in the back of class, or maybe she'd gone to one of Richie Carmine's parties. With shaking fingers she touched her cut and the warmth there was enough to convince her that she really had been attacked by a giant spider, and was going to be again if she stepped outside. And after that thing with the tar and the vice-principal's desk she wasn't on the best terms with the police…

She looked up as she was nudged on the shoulder. "Hey," said Frank. "Didn't you pick up something the guy in the red suit dropped after the spider was almost done with him?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"No, you totally did. What was it?"

"I'm telling you, I have no idea what you're talking about," Liss insisted. She had no idea who this guy was, and after almost being killed wasn't feeling inclined to trust total strangers with what she was sure was the key to the mystery.

He reached for the zipper of her jacket, and Liss jumped back. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"Let me see it!" Frank said, getting agitated.

"Why?"

He didn't reply to that, scowling fiercely at her instead. Liss backed away a few steps before she felt the roof shake, sending bits of brick dust fluttering down on them, and into her cut. The door they'd come in through exploded inward and a long green leg stabbed through the opening it had left.

Frank lunged for Liss again, but she was already running toward the front of the stage and jumped down into aisle and ran for the front of the theater as fast as she could. The roof trembled behind her, obviously the spider moving to block the front door. Looked like her suspicions had paid off once again, because how else could it have known unless Frank was telling it somehow?

But she had a good head start and had an idea of where she might be able to hide out next. The basement of the place where they kept the garbage trucks, maybe, or…

She flung open the door at the front and dashed out, but ran right into a wall of white fibers. Liss yelled in surprise and tried to pull away but was stuck fast. Of course, a spider had a web.

"So typical of humans," she could hear Frank say behind her, but suddenly his voice was a few octaves lower. Turning her head as far as she could, Liss could see that his eyes had started to shimmer red in the darkness of the theater, the teeth he was clenching in his angry scowl looked awfully long. "A little honesty could've spared your miserable life…"

Liss pulled with all her might to break free of the web, but the end of her long, dark hair caught in the sticky strands. She yelped and then found herself with her face stuck to the web. She tried to pull loose again, screamed in pain as she felt how her nose ring was caught, and realized brute force wasn't getting her out of this.

At least, not her own…

She pulled back with her right arm as hard as he could, and pulled harder when she spotted Frank only a few feet away. There was a rip and a patch of her jacket's sleeve was left stuck to the web, but with how Frank's fangs looked to be getting longer every second, it wasn't a sacrifice Liss regretted. She thrust her hand into her jacket and whipped out the buckle, then pressed it to her front hoping desperately for kind of reaction.

To her own surprise, she got one. A belt strap shot from one side, looped around her waist and clicked into place on the other side of the buckle. As soon as that was complete a sheath of what looked like black plastic spread from the buckle over Liss's body, and formed a mask with slanted yellow lenses over her eyes. Frank was right behind her by then, his hair falling out and skin peeling away to reveal a surface that looked more like dark rock than flesh underneath. Desperately Liss slammed the card down into the slot atop her belt buckle, but still the top stuck out, as if mocking her.

TRANSFORM.

"Transform!" Liss yelled as she smacked the card down again.

"Swords Suit!" something announced. Liss had a split-second to wonder what she'd just done, then a transparent red rectangle appeared out of the dome on the front of the buckle, floated above her head and then drifted downward, forming thick red armor over the black suit as it passed over her body. There was a feeling of warmth and then strength that flowed through her body. Frank went for her neck with his fangs, but as the shape reached the soles of her feet he was pushed by a burst of unseen force that also ripped the webbing away from her body.

Above she could hear the spider screech and the web trembled, no doubt its maker coming to reinforce Frank now that Liss wasn't trapped anymore. But now what? The web stretched like a wall all around and above the front of the theater. Liss felt incredibly stronger now, but strong enough to break through a giant spider's web? Did she want to chance that with two monsters around and no idea what she could do? Did she have any other choice?

Frank thrust spindly clawed fingers at Liss's neck, and mindful of how the buckle's previous owner had met his demise she grabbed him by the wrist and spun him into the web where he thrashed around, but within second the strands were already starting to tear.

The belt…something on her belt could help! She looked down and spotted a pocket on one side, but it was empty. On the other, though, was a metal plate in the shape of a diamond, and when Liss reached for it, it suddenly jumped off on its own and a bracelet on its underside closed around her left wrist. It stuck out like a blade, and with three swipes Liss chopped through the web and dove through the opening just as she spotted the shadow of the spider just a foot above her head.

Liss was still rolling with the momentum of her dive when the spider reached out and tried to impale her with its leg. It struck against her back and sparks flew from her new armor, but it held. Another thick green leg stabbed at her and Liss slashed at it with her wrist blade, cutting in deep and sending a spray of green blood spurting across the street.

But the spider just hissed and sprang from its perch on its web, blotting out the sun for a second as its hideous bulk soared over her. And as it did, it spread another web behind it. No, there was no way she was getting stuck in another of those damn things! Was her only weapon this little thing on her wrist? What about that huge sword?!

Liss could feel power building up inside her again just before the dome on her belt buckle shone energy and hovering over her was a metal rod with an ovular head she recognized as the hilt of sword that knight had had before. She reached out to grab it and a pair of curved crossbars slid from the sides of the head, and in a flash of light a blade four and a half feet long formed from the top.

And just in time. The web had almost reached the ground, but Liss got her feet under her and cut through it easily with her new weapon.

The spider turned to set about finishing her off, but once it saw she hadn't been trapped it shrieked in frustration and rushed toward Liss trying to batter her with its powerful legs. The first one clipped her stomach and she yipped in pain, but the second one she was ready for and swung her sword, lopping it off at the second joint. The spider screamed as green blood gushed from its wound, shattering windows up and down the block. The severed leg jerked horribly for several seconds before falling still.

But Liss wasn't waiting for the spider to make the next move. She had it on the defensive, she had to keep it that way if she was going to win the fight. Holding on tight to the hilt she swung the sword in front of her yelled, "Bladestorm!" As the blade passed a sheet of wind issued from it, and ghostly swords formed and pelted the spider. It staggered, but fixed its eyes on Liss screamed before it crouched to jump at her.

She wasn't about to let it turn her into a target, though. Before the spider could jump Liss turned, crouched and took off at a sprint, hands tight around the hilt of her sword. In the blink of an eye she was a hundred feet away and had to skid to a stop to keep from crashing into a car parked in front of her.

And then the air was filled with a piercing scream and time seemed to slow down as something swooped at her. It was the monster Frank had turned into, with long leathery wings running from forearms to knees. He reached out for Liss's head with long spindly fingers, shrieking like a banshee. Liss crouched and jumped over his head…

…and as she soared over the end of the block, she realized she probably should've known something like that would happen in the first place.

The roof of a rundown apartment house came up to meet her in a hurry and with a sword that long in her hand she wasn't sure how she'd go into a roll to blunt the momentum, yet didn't dare let a weapon go with two monsters after her. Her first foot hit and right through up to her knee, the second left a print two inches deep. In spite of that she wasn't even aching from the landing and turned around just in time to see Frank flying toward her again, blood-red eyes narrowed in fury.

At the last second Liss swung her sword and hit Frank hard on his shoulder with the flat. He spun out of control, but a second later disappeared in a small dark cloud that came from nowhere. Liss didn't get to dwell on it long, something clipped the side of her mask and she whirled to see the spider clinging to the side of a building, looking up at her before it ducked back its head and spat a volley of red needles at her.

Liss raised her sword in front of her face, deflecting two harmlessly but the others sliced through the armor on one shoulder. The shoulder that was still sore from being gouged by that monster's leg not an hour before. She'd been helpless against it then.

But not anymore

With a yell Liss ran to the edge of the roof and let herself fall to the street. As soon as the sidewalk caved in around her boots she was off and running toward the spider, yelling in the most defiant way she'd learned how. The spider dropped from its perch and trundled in Liss's direction while it hissed in cold amusement. The poor stupid human had lost her mind, and thought she could win with a frontal assault!

Liss stopped short in front of the spider but lifted her sword to meet it head on. One of the arachnid's powerful legs fell, aimed at Liss's chest—

NO!

It was that same strange voice that had said how to make the card work. For a second Liss froze, wondering where it was coming from, but just before the spider's leg could impale her, she jumped with a little less force this time. In the split second the spider took to realize it hadn't killed her after all, she held out one hand to push herself off the wall of a building and come rocketing back at the spider with a flying kick. Liss felt a crunch under her boot, and incredibly, the arachnid's bulk toppled over.

FINAL ASCEND.

"Final Ascend!" Liss screamed, not knowing how or why, but gripping the sword in both hands and raised it straight in the air. Power flowed into the blade until it glowed a blazing white. The she brought it down.

The blade bite deep into the asphalt and immediately a crack in the ground ripped from the point of impact and raced to where the spider had fallen. The street buckled and a tornado that stretched from curb to curb erupted from underneath the spider, spinning it into the air and ripping bits away with each revolution. The spider looked as if it was screaming in pain, but Liss couldn't hear it over the deafening winds that were tearing it to pieces. After just a few more terrible seconds the spider was simply gone, and the tornado died away.

Liss fell to her knees, bracing herself on the sword.

She'd done it…she'd figured out how her new powers worked and actually beat a giant monster with them!

Liss was too busy reveling in what she'd just managed to notice a pair of shadows vanish from the scene.

There was a rush of air and she was no longer alone. The intruder immediately sank to one knee.

Knowing the news was sure not to be to her liking, she rose from her seat and poured a drink into her usual chalice. "Speak," she commanded.

"Empress, the Fate Driver has indeed been recovered."

"And who wears it now?"

"An outsider, Empress. I saw her kill a Mythos with my own eyes, and hold her own against another at the same time. The danger-"

She banged the chalice down heavily for silence. "Don't seek to remind me of the danger, child. Surely you don't suggest I sit here not knowing what goes on beyond these walls, that I've no regard for my people at all. Tell those loyal to us to gather at once, and try to convince the rest. There is much to discuss."

* * *

Next Time on Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt…

(Liss stands in a dingy room, facing a woman in a recliner)

Mrs. Decker: Just what kind of future do you think you're making for yourself like this?

(In her armor again, Liss faces off with a fanged, bat-winged monster)

Liss: One bigger than living in this hole for the rest of my life.

(A beautiful, pale-skinned woman in a black dress raises her arms for attention)

Empress: My fellows, it seems our troubles are even greater than we thought.

(The monster pins Liss and sinks its fangs into her neck)

Narrator: Your fate is in your hands.


	3. Chapter 3: Faces of Foes

Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt - Reading Three: Faces of Foes

Disclaimer: I don't own or make any claim of ownership of the Kamen Rider series. Kamen Rider Tarock and its characters belong to me, and may not be used without express permission. But don't be afraid to ask. I also don't necessarily share the beliefs of any character in my stories, and in the case of the ones in this story, don't necessarily endorse anything they do.

One last powerful leap carried Liss to the empty lot behind the garage. After she was sure no one else was around, she slipped up to the back door and—carefully—knocked.

"Deliveries come in through the front!" Paige called, just audible through the opened back window.

"Paige…it's me," Liss called back.

"Liss?"

"You better open the door, Paige. I'd probably break it."

"Damn, Liss. You wrecking my stuff now too?" Paige sighed in disgust, but when she spotted the armored figure standing behind the building she gasped. "What the—what the hell are you doing?"

Liss picked up a fallen brick from the ground and crushed it between the fingers of one hand. "You're not going to believe it, but you're the only person I can tell."

Paige stared for a few seconds before she said anything. "That sword looks real."

"It is real."

"Get in here," Paige commanded, and locked the door and closed every blind as soon as Liss had. "Did this have anything to do with all that smashing and the sirens a little while ago." It wasn't surprising she'd asked. Generally when the police bothered to show up in this part of town, it was best to just lock oneself in and hope things passed by without incident.

Liss nodded. "I'll tell you all about it after I…," she started to say then realized she had no idea how to get the suit off. She waited a second for that weird voice that had told her how her new powers had worked before to tell her what to do now, but nothing happened.

It had to come off, didn't it? She was supposed to spend the rest of her life…

Then there was a grinding sound and the red card ejected from her belt buckle. She snatched it out of the air and saw the suit had disappeared back to wherever it had come from. Paige gaped, then sighed, walked into the front room and poured herself a coffee.

She took a long, bracing sip and sat down. "What happened, Liss?"

* * *

Ten minutes later they stood outside the theater where Liss had nearly been trapped between the giant spider and its strange ally who could disguise himself as a human. A pair of squad cars were parked out front and one officer angrily motioned for them to leave, but there was no missing the large mass of white fibers three other officers were trying to pull a machete out again with no success.

They started to walk away, looking as unobtrusive as they could. "All right," Paige said once she was sure the cops couldn't hear them, "Say I believe you got attacked by some kind of bat-guy and a giant spider. Where did they come from, and that suit of yours too?"

"I have no idea, but somehow I think I'm gonna find out soon," Liss replied.

Paige shook her head. "Liss, you should go give that thing of yours to the cops. Let them worry about this."  
"No way," Liss said more firmly than Paige had ever heard her. "This is mine."

They didn't talk the rest of the way back to the garage. As soon as they got there Paige unlocked the door and went straight back to the old truck she'd been fixing up. Liss let her work, figuring it was for the best to let things sink in. Instead she went over to another vehicle sitting in the corner, a dirty racing bike whose previous owner had left it in Paige's care before skipping town.

"Hands off," Paige interrupted her.

"When are we gonna finish fixing this up?" Liss asked.

"You're in enough trouble after today already, don't go digging yourself in deeper. Bringing the forces of evil into town…," Paige warned.

"Hey, I'm the one who got rid of 'em!" said Liss, indignantly. "Seriously, when are we gonna fix it up?"

Paige looked up for a second, her stomach growled, and then she returned to her work. "Not on an empty stomach, that's for sure. And you got attacked by monsters today and that crappy old bike's all you can think about?"

That got a smirk from Liss. "It won't be crappy anymore after we fix it. Besides, it'd be cool as all hell to ride up to a monster right before I kicked its butt."

Paige sighed and shook her head. "Liss, you're enjoying this too much, I'm too hungry to listen, and it's getting late. Go home. If you really want to, we'll talk about it later."

Liss pouted, but knew better than to argue once Paige had said something so final. Besides, she had to admit this had been a way more eventful day than she'd been expecting. The door clicked shut behind her and she walked out onto the streets, where the sky was already starting to turn orange as the sun completed its daily journey. Before, even Liss would've hurried to someplace bright and relatively safe. That night, she found she was in no hurry to get out of the fading daylight. Men with knives were no longer as scary after what she'd achieved that day.

She waited silently for the evening bus to come by, knowing full well what to expect when she got off, and not minding so much this time.

* * *

The door to Liss's apartment wasn't locked by the time she got home, but she'd been expecting that for the entire ride. There was just one light on, in the living room, and she couldn't hear the chatter of the TV. That was the last check on her list of expectations.

"Felicity, come here," a woman said quietly but sternly from the next room. Liss ignored the command until after she'd poured herself some water, then walked over and stood in the doorway. Her mother, a woman who'd been packing on a few pounds thanks to the stress of the last few years and who'd stopped caring for the lustrous black hair she'd once been so proud of, looked up at Liss with weary exasperation. "You skipped school again. You even got the security guard to chase you."

"Yeah," was all Liss had to say for herself.

"This is the third time," Liss's mother added.

"I don't know what they told you, but I can count that high, mom."

Liss's mother buried her face in her hands. "Why do you do this to me? Why do you do this to yourself? Do you know what happens to people who live in places like this, and don't bother to get an education?"

Liss nodded. "Yeah, I do. But you don't want anyone saying that name in this family, isn't that right?"

"Don't you turn this on me, young lady! This family was doing fine until she went and…and…!" Liss's mother wailed, so disgusted she couldn't even finish the sentence.

"You found out she was kissing her roommate?" Liss supplied. Her mother quivered with barely suppressed rage, then sighed heavily and looked away.

"Do whatever you want then, I suppose. We'll see what your father thinks."

"If he decides to wake up and get involved at all," Liss said, but she was sick and tired of this same song and dance anyway. She went down the hall to the tiny bedroom that was hers to call home. After locking the door she went to the niche in one wall that served as her closet and pulled back the cheap carpeting in one corner, revealing a small hollow where a lockbox was hidden. She took her keys out and opened it up, then hid the buckle and card inside on top of the other junk she hadn't looked at in years.

What point was there to brooding on the past, thought Liss as she climbed into bed. Finally something interesting, something exciting had finally happened to help her forget…this. And she was going to find out what it was.

* * *

Inwardly, the Empress of Mazones sighed. Her throne room was full, but the occupants were all familiar. Her envoy—trusted and powerful though she was—had obviously not succeeded in persuading those others of their kind who could still be found of the severity of their situation.

"These are all I could gather, Empress," her lieutenant said, almost apologetically.

"I know, Thena. You have my thanks for reaching out to the others regardless," the Empress said and drew herself up to her full height before approaching them.

She was quite a sight, with the absolute blackness of her gown and flowing hair contrasted by the ivory white skin of her face and hands. Her features were beautiful, but hard and strong at the same time. Even having forgone her fullest finery to put her visitors more at ease, she exuded a palpable power that grew to fill the room as she held up her arms for the others' attention.

"Fellow Arcana, you have all been told why we have gathered, and thank you for having the courage to come forward and help devise a course of action," she said. "Certainly this is a troubled time for us…"

"Are we so sure our peril has increased with a new Tarock, though, Maeve?" asked a woman seated on a white marble bench. Her hair was a wavy brown and flowed well with the green gown she wore. Crouched at her feet was a great brown-furred beast that resembled a lion, except for having a second row of eyes above the first and a slight glow to the tips of its sheathed claws. "From what you've said, this new Tarock has done nothing so far but slay a single Mythos. For all we know, she has neither the ability nor the desire to reach the Sphere. To say nothing of Mazones itself."

The Empress scowled inwardly. Always this kind of thing from Leone. Certainly she was grateful to have such a powerful Arcanum offering to assist Mazones when needed—the closest thing to loyalty most Arcana seemed capable of anymore-but more and more it seemed as if it would take the end of the Sphere itself to motivate her to fight. "Do you not see what's happening? Shardak's assassin has come back, and poses a threat to us all! Remember what became of Knight Duric!" the Empress cried.

"No one's forgetting what became of Duric," an echoing voice replied. It came from a floating shape that looked to be made of some kind of metal, but as it hung in the air its color shifted from dull gold to bright silver and then to shimmering red. Electricity arced across its surface, then a small burst of flame, and then a sheet of ice formed around its surface. It was a sphere, then a cube, then a ring…

"However," it went on, "Leone has a point. Tarock's power is not to be taken lightly, but have we not enemies at the gates already? Should we not determine which is more deserving of our attention?"

"Why did you even answer the summons if this is how you react to the Empress's plea for assistance?" asked another strange being. At first glance it was two people, man and woman dressed in red tunics and kilts, with the man being the one who'd spoken. Upon closer inspection, however, the legs on both figures tapered to a single joining just below the knees, and their interlaced hands actually melded together at the point of contact.

"Felco speaks true," said the woman. "Have the mighty Arcana fallen this far, that they prefer to completely turn a blind eye when a known danger resurfaces?"

"Thank you, Mila," the Empress said quietly, looking at the others reprovingly. "We know full well what Tarock's capable of! That it's a danger even to us!"

Leone spoke up next. "Do not confuse a wish to assess a danger with cowardice," she said coolly. "And do not confuse a desire to help for blind fealty."

The Empress eyed Leone and the shifting being coldly. "I cannot believe I'm hearing this. Our fortifications are nearly nonexistent and our people are vulnerable. And now an outsider of all people has a power in their hands that we well know is a lethal danger to us."

"Must force be met with force?" the formless being asked, simply. "We are not undermining your authority, Maeve, we know the danger of the Mythos AND of Tarock. But what use is provoking a threat that may not exist as things are?"

"Master Segic speaks with the proper restraint," Leone said. "Seeking troubles where none exist can only serve to deepen the problems that concern you so, Maeve. Let us observe-"

"An outsider has become Tarock!" Mila cried. "Is there more you need to know? That sort of power, in that sort of creature's hands?! The entire Sphere could be wiped out!"

Leone's pet growled menacingly but fell silent when she placed her hand on the back of its head. "Because Tarock can kill an Arcanum? Whatever you've heard about Duric-"

"If I may interrupt," Segic did indeed interrupt with his disembodied voice. "Maeve, was your attendant excused on some vital business?"

"Thena? No, she had no other duties, what are you…," the Empress began, but the words died in her throat as she cast her eyes around the room and realized Thena was nowhere to be seen.

But the Empress had an idea where she'd gone.

The room itself trembled. For the briefest of moments Segic's form froze in the shape of a silvery Mobius strip, and Leone's pet growled defensively and splayed its claws even as she stroked its head and whispered soothingly to it.

How did Thena dare to strike out against Tarcok on her own, without so much as seeking approval, simply slinking away when her Empress's back was turned?

There would be hell to pay for this…

* * *

For a while the next morning, Liss thought the school might have actually turned a blind eye to her playing hooky the day before. She sat through the first four classes of the day, paying slightly less attention than usual as her thoughts traveled back to the strange encounter with Frank, and the giant spider, and her transformation into that strange, powerful being.

Where had something that could give someone that kind of power come from, the future? Some other world? With the strange distortion she'd felt just before encountering the buckle's previous owner and the monsters, just about any answer seemed plausible.

When the bell rang to end fourth period, she was trying to come up with some idea of what to do next. The monsters and the buckle's previous owner hadn't given her any clues about where they came from or what they were. Maybe if there was some way to get that voice that had told her how to use her attacks to talk again, and maybe come up with some specifics…

"Hey," someone pushed her on the back of the head. Liss turned, angrily staring at whoever had dared to interrupt her planning. And she nearly slammed him against the nearest bank of lockers by the throat.

The shaggy blond hair, the stubble on his chin, the ripped denim jacket that he still thought made him look so tough…

It was Ben Corland.

"What the hell do YOU want?" Liss demanded.

"Where were you yesterday?" he asked with a smug smile, acting unaffected by her display of anger.

"Someplace a lot better than wasting my time talking to a little smartass." Liss stalked off, but Ben followed after her, laughing softly.

"Oh come on, Liss. I'm over you telling you the principal about me being in on our little tar prank. Let's go do something after school, it'll be fun!"

"I'm already doing something after school," Liss replied tersely.

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Like the same thing I was doing yesterday," Liss replied and started walking faster, but turned a corner and ran right into a guard coming the other way. A big guy with a bowl cut and icy gray eyes she'd never seen before. He immediately grabbed her by the shoulders.

"The VP wants to see you, little missy," he stated as a matter of fact

Guess they'd noticed after all.

The guard led Liss away, and Ben started to follow before the guard stopped him in his tracks with a glare. "Not you, tough guy, just her."

Ben shrugged. "Sure man, sure." Then he vanished into the pass period crowd. Students turned to watch briefly as Liss passed by, then their attention settled back on their own business. Nothing new involving Liss.

A minute later Liss stumbled into the vice principal's office from a spiteful shove against her back from her escort. Looking at her from across his desk, left eye twitching in that familiar way, was Vice Principal Sanchez. His black buzzcut was immaculate as always, and his smooth features, free of any hints of stubble or other blemishes, made him look even more like a poorly-disguised robot than usual.

Suddenly a feeling of cold rushed up Liss's arm and into her spine, but was gone as quickly as she'd felt it.

"How nice of you to join us today, Miss Decker," he said, hands clenched in front of him. "Maybe you'd care to explain what pressing business drew you away from school with no notice yesterday."

"I could, but you wouldn't believe me even if I did."

Sanchez laughed out loud and leaned back in his chair after hearing that. "A little honesty, I see! I have to admit, Miss Decker, I never thought you'd be the one to see how limp your own excuses are!"

Inwardly, Liss tensed. VP Sanchez didn't like her after the stunts she'd pulled before, but he'd never flat out insulted her before. Or anyone else. Wasn't that the kind of thing that got people who worked for schools sued?

"But!" he exclaimed suddenly. "Since you evidently see the error of your ways, you won't mind making some of the time you missed out on yesterday after school today. And frankly young lady, that's getting off light."

Liss just nodded. It'd be easier to figure out what to do next with fewer people breathing down her neck. Sanchez squinted at her for a second as if he couldn't believe she was accepting her punishment so easily, but then waved her out of his office. "Well then, since you're turning your academic career around, get to class. See you after school, Miss Decker."

She did, but took her time getting to her destination since for her, fifth period was lunch. Making a baloney and cheese sandwich was about as far as her culinary skills extended, and her mind had been on other things all day. So she fished into the pocket of her jacket for a few crumpled bills and got a tray of lunch sludge, not bothering to see what they were calling the different colors that day.

A table near the corner was unoccupied, so Liss took a seat. She unzipped her backpack just far enough to glimpse the buckle inside. "Can you hear me?" she whispered. "You, the one who talked me through the fight yesterday. Who are you?"

No answer came, maybe because she could only hear it while she had the suit on, and that wasn't a secret she had any intention of sharing yet. Maybe she'd be better off skipping detention after all…

"Anyone sitting here, beautiful?" someone asked, and Liss kicked her backpack under the table to keep it out of sight. Looking over at her were Ben Corland and two of his friends. Liss sighed in annoyance, which they evidently took as acceptance as they filled the seats beside her, Ben taking the one on her right. "So, you thought about my invitation yet?" he asked.

"I'm busy after school," Liss answered curtly.

Ben frowned. "Oh yeah? Doing what?"

"Detention."

One of the other boys scoffed. "Detention? Since when do you go to detention?"

"Yeah, Liss," Ben joined in. "What's Sanchez got on you?"

"None of your damn business," Liss growled. That elicited a chorus of amused "oooooh"'s from the boys.

"Looks like your girlfriend's getting soft, Ben," the second boy warned. "You sure she can still hang with us?"

"I am NOT his girlfriend anymore," Liss said, the disgust at admitting she ever was almost tangible.

Ben looked her in the eye, and even though Liss immediately looked away, he asked, "Seriously, Liss. You spending this afternoon in detention? Just like that?" He gave her a look he never had even when they had been going out, after she'd won her first fistfight with another student. It was masked by annoyance, but there was a glint of concern in his eyes.

She'd still been getting used to her current lifestyle then, and a boyfriend who was into defying authority and didn't think a girl couldn't be tough too was an appealing idea. And it had gone well for a few dates, but it was then when Liss noticed Ben was taking her places, but only to brag about how he was there with the girl who'd left so-and-so black and blue. Eventually something else would command his attention, and Liss would be on her own for the next few hours until Ben finally decided to come find her and take her home.

She'd, understandably she thought, told him she wasn't interested in putting up with that, and Ben proposed they prank Vice Principal Sanchez. Something for the two of them to bond over. They'd been caught in the act, but Ben had gotten away. Liss, however, hadn't seen any reason not to tell them who put her up to it. Neither had spoken to the other since.

Why the hell would he suddenly be taking an interest?

Her continued silence was the only answer he got. Finally Ben shrugged and looked away, unwrapping his sandwich and taking a bite.

The first boy asked, "So what ARE we doing tonight, man, if we're not hanging out with your chick?"

Liss grabbed her tray and stalked off to another empty table. Ben didn't answer. He spotted a science teacher whose class he had coming up passing the cafeteria, and all of a sudden he grabbed the bottle of soda from his lunch and ran outside, shaking it hard as he went.

Ben ran up behind the teacher, then when he was right behind her uncapped the bottle and let it spray all over her. She screamed as the sticky beverage covered her hair and blouse, and angrily whirled to see a smiling Ben Corland behind her, holding the fizzing bottle that gave his guilt away.

"WHAT do you think you're doing?" she screamed.

He smirked back at her. "Well…"

* * *

Liss took a seat in the empty classroom. Sanchez had shown up after her last class of the day and personally escorted her to detention; seemed he wasn't taking any chances on her that day. Weirdly, she'd felt that sensation of cold race up her arm again when he'd shown up. She got out a book to look like she was getting ready to do some homework, hoping to try to get some results from the buckle instead, but then a second student was shown into the room.

"Hey Liss, looks like we're hanging out after school after all," Ben smirked at her.

"Like hell you are," Sanchez snapped. "You're going to make good use of your time after school to prove we don't need to be more severe. I'll be back to check in a little while." Then he closed the door behind him, glared at the two of them for a minute through the window in it and strode off.

"He seem even crazier than usual today, or is that just me?" Ben asked. He took the desk next to Liss's, glanced at the book she hadn't opened, and then leaned over to look into the top of her backpack. "What's that?"

Liss snatched it away. "What the hell's with you today?" she asked, irritated. She fastened the zipper again and pretended to read through a chapter of textbook, even though she didn't think for a second Ben was fooled. She just hoped the thought of a punch in the face was enough to get him off her case.

It wasn't. Ben returned to his seat and got out his algebra notebook, and read through it for most of ten minutes before lunging over and grabbing Liss's backpack and opening the zipper. "What the hell is THIS?" he laughed as he pulled the buckle out. "One of those real life role-playing things?"

"Give that back, right now," Liss said, which made Ben's grin of amusement even wider.

"Oh my god, it is! Looks like the tough girl's got a few dark secrets!"

"Let me put it another way," Liss said. "Give that back, right now, and I won't break your nose."

That got Ben to stop laughing, but still he didn't give it back. "So what's this supposed to be, huh? The Magic Amulet of Zendoforvink…itz or whatever? What's this thing made out of, anyway? Feels like metal, but it should be heavier-"

Liss lunged and grabbed the buckle, but Ben held onto it hard. All of a sudden the door flew open and standing in the door was the guard Liss had never seen before. "What's all the yellin' about?" he demanded, then his eyes zeroed in on the buckle they were fighting over. "Ah, I see! Guess I'll just take that, and we can all be buddies again."

"No way," Liss said and shoved Ben, grabbing the buckle back.

"Just hand it over," the guard warned. "Nobody has to get hurt." He grabbed for the buckle, and again Liss could feel that cold sensation on her arm again, but weaker, shorter than before. All the same she kicked him in the side and he staggered into the wall.

"Whoa, Liss!" Ben cried out. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Playing a hunch," she answered. The guard didn't move from where he'd ended up, but suddenly his body was surrounded by some kind of blue smoke. It took only a second to clear but when it did the guard was something totally different. He was the same size and shape of a human being, but instead of skin he seemed to be covered in something that looked like white stone. Black lines traveled up and down his arms, legs and torso, but his face was completely smooth and featureless. Again he reached out for the buckle and again Liss kicked him, this time against the chest and with all her strength, but he only staggered back a single step before grabbing for her leg.

Liss dodged back and grabbed the sword card from her backpack. She was about to slap on the buckle when the windows behind her shattered, and two more of those white fake-people somersaulted into the room. Between them, landing almost elegantly on his feet, was Vice Principal Sanchez. Again she felt cold shoot up her arm.

"Give me the buckle, Liss," Sanchez warned. "I might still be persuaded to let you walk away from this."

"Liss, huh?" she asked.

"Isn't that what you said your name was the first time we met?" he said with a sinister smile, right before the skin split down the middle of his head and peeled back. It was the monster Frank had become the day before. His suit tore to shreds as his frame expanded to the size it had been when she'd had her first fight with these things.

She slapped the buckle into place, and one of the white things ran to stop her, knocking Ben into a row of desks. It was too late, as the black under-suit had already formed, and Liss slammed the sword card in at the same time she yelled, "TRANSFORM!"

"Swords Suit!" the buckle said just before the three faceless monsters were flung away by the power of her change, but the Frank-Sanchez monster managed to hold its ground, staring at her angrily as her red armor finished forming itself.

Ben looked up and froze as he spotted the black and red armored figure where Liss had been standing. He started to say something but the sound died in his throat. Liss threw herself at the monster and they crashed through the wall behind it, out onto the grounds.

She rolled onto her feet and her sword appeared in her hand. The three faceless monsters rushed toward her, weaving back and forth as they came. The first one landed a punch on her chest, staggering her back, but as he came up to attack again she sweep-kicked his legs out from under him and impaled him through the chest with her sword. He contorted before simply bursting into white powder.

Just as she looked up the second one attacked, kicking at her and hooking his leg around her neck, then leaning back and pulling Liss down with him. As they fell the last one darted around and threw himself at Liss's side with a jump kick. She gasped and tumbled across the lawn.

Again they came at her, weaving back and forth. Liss jumped to her feet and went into a fighting stance, and in another second they were close enough to renew their attack. Before they could, Liss punched them in their blank faces at the same time, stunning them. She somersaulted over their heads, then untucked her body and kicked each of them in the back, sending them flying toward the other monster. It opened its fanged mouth and shrieked, the sound issuing out as a visible cone of force that shattered its lesser comrades into a cloud of ivory-colored dest.

Liss and the monster faced each other alone, circling and looking for an opening. Suddenly he threw his arms up high and the membranes he used to fly expanded outward. He took a few running steps and launched himself into the air, flying like a missile straight at Liss.

The sword sang as it cut through the air toward the monster's side, but he swooped upward and out of the way of her attack. Liss ran after him as he came around for another pass and jumped at him, aiming her sword at his neck. He turned to face her and then opened his mouth, giving out his cry again. It was deafening, and Liss felt herself flying backward. Another second and she felt dirt and grass being torn up around her as she dug a trench across the school lawn with her shoulders from the force of the monster's attack. There was a crunch and her vision blurred for a few seconds as her helmet punched through the wall of the school.

The monster hovered over where she'd come to rest and then grabbed her shoulders with the talons on his feet before pumping his wings and lifting Liss into the air with him. She grasped the hilt of the sword and thrust the tip at his stomach as they ascended, but the monster hissed and swung his legs forward to bash her head against the side of the building again. Liss was only dazed for a second, but in that second her sword tumbled from her hand and fell two stories to the ground.

Higher and higher the monster continued to fly. He looked down at Liss, fangs bared, but she wasn't sure if it was a smile or a snarl. She karate-chopped his ankle and that foot released her, only for him to shift his grip and grab her around the neck with both feet instead. He flew toward the side of the school and bashed her head against the wall. Her vision stayed blurred longer that time, and Liss felt a warm trickle down the back of her head she was sure was blood.

Then he pumped his wings, pushing them away from the building. And dropped her.

Liss failed for something to grab and arrest her fall, as pointless as she already knew that would be. A feeling of cold helplessness clutched at her stomach as she fell. Liss found herself asking for the first time just how much her armor protected her, how strong it made her. She shouldn't have waited until after school, she should've experimented as soon as she could. Could she beat this monster? Would she even survive the fall? Was Paige right telling her to—

Then her thoughts were cut off by a bone-jarring impact that knocked the wind out of her lungs and all feeling from her body. Then as if he'd appeared from nowhere, the monster was over her. He lifted her by the shoulders, then sank his fangs into her neck, going right through her armor.

Of course. A fanged monster with big leathery wings. Had to be a vampire, didn't it?

Liss screamed as he drank her blood. The feeling was returning and nothing seemed broken, but the strength drained from her body with every second the vampire sucked at her neck. She tried to shove him off but it was like trying to budge a skyscraper.

All right, she thought, if you're there, if you've got any advice for me, now's the—

THUNDER LASH.

"Thunder…Lash?!" Liss choked. The bracelet with the blade on it jumped onto her wrist and immediately sizzled with arcs of blue electricity. She jabbed it into the vampire's stomach and he shrieked. Right in her ear, but he released her neck and staggered away, body spasming horribly.

A long coil of electricity, like a whip, stretched from the tip of her bracelet until it was almost ten feet long. By then the vampire had recovered, and stared at her with his burning eyes. He dove forward to tackle her, and Liss brought the Thunder Lash back over her shoulder to swing it at the monster, the electricity sizzling a centimeter away from her head in the process. She cracked it forward, catching the vampire across the shoulder.

He screamed at the pain and landed well short, but tried to aim the force of his scream at Liss. She brought back the Thunder Lash for another strike, caught herself on the back with it for a second and yelped, but struck again and the energy sliced down the vampire's face. She cracked it again, watching her back that time, and left a deep red gash in the vampire's side.

STRATO KICK. HIGH.

The vampire scrambled away from Liss, spread his wings and flapped feverishly to get out of Liss's range. She crouched, then jumped upward and at his retreating back as hard as she could. "STRATO KICK!" Liss screamed, and she could feel power building up inside her. Then it exploded behind her, shaping the winds into a tornado pushing her toward the vampire. She aimed one foot at him and almost gasped in surprise as she sheared right through, flying onward to meet the ground again as his body disintegrated in blue flames before they could even fall from the air.

"Hey," Liss panted. "You, the one who told me what those were called…you there? Who are you? What's going on?"

"I think I can furnish an answer to that, if you're worthy of it," a cold female voice said. Appearing out of nowhere was another strange figure. It was a woman in ornate black armor with golden epaulets, boots, gauntlets and a design of old-fashioned scales across the chest. A winged helmet completely covered her face above the nose. Her skin was the absolute pale of those three lesser monsters. She already had a pair of short swords in hand, and gripped them tightly as if waiting for the chance to use them.

And the feeling of cold raced up Liss's arm once again as the woman approached. What was that?

"Who the hell are you?" Liss emanded.

"I am Thena, warrior of Mazones. You are Tarock, and you are a risk I cannot tolerate."

* * *

Next time on Kamen Rider Tarock. Re-Dealt…

(Liss's armor is cracked and erupts in sparks)

Thena: You were never a match for me, outsider.

(She cradles the buckle in her hands, the crystal ball cracked down the middle)

Liss: I can't believe it's over already.

(A man in flamboyant medieval garb holds out a new green card)

Male Voice: And who says it has to be over, little one? There's a whole world waiting to be discovered!

(A bearded face made of green smoke gestures to approach)

Narrator: Your fate is in your hands.


	4. Chapter 4: Welcome to the Sphere

Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt: Reading Four – Welcome to the Sphere

/Hey, this one's a little big as it has the first major glimpses of the other world where Tarock's powers and her various enemies (and maybe a few friends) come from. Thanks in advance for your patience./

Liss's eyes darted from the strangely-garbed woman to where her sword had landed during her fight with the vampire, a good hundred yards apart. Thena tightened her grip on her own weapons but stayed perfectly still, betraying nothing.

"You think you can take me? You obviously weren't watching just now when I wasted that vampire," Liss said, trying to get some kind of reaction she could gauge from her new opponent. Her arms were feeling heavy already from the last fight, and any advantage she could get was something. But Thena was as still as a statue, her eyes locked on Liss. At least, she assumed they were. What kind of idiot kept their eyes covered in a fight?

Then Liss broke and ran for her sword. Thena jumped, somersaulted in the air and landed in front of the fallen weapon. A ribbon of white light crossed Liss's vision and then sparks erupted from her chestplate. Liss was still processing that she'd just been slashed when another streak of light came and that time sparks flew from the lens over her left eye. Had to move faster or the next one was going to go straight through her head!

Liss feinted hard to her left and as soon as Thena made a move that way Liss jumped the other. She sailed through the air toward the wall of the school, right toward a window on the second floor, and crashed through it. A few screams went up, and she wasn't surprised to see the students who'd been in there huddled against the wall. Probably had been as soon as the vampire started drumming the wall with her head.

She ran at the door to the classroom and jump-kicked right through it. There was another collective scream behind her, no doubt Thena wasn't wasting any time coming after her. Liss shouldered the door to the room across the hall aside and dove over the heads of the students hiding in there, through another window. As soon as she'd cleared the edge, she turned and dug her fingers into the bricks as hard as she could to arrest her fall. The second she saw Thena come through the window frame after her, she yelled out, "THUNDER LASH!" The electric whip sizzled into being and Liss snapped it as hard as she could at Thena.

The whip bit into Thena's shoulder and she clenched her teeth, but made no sound and didn't flinch from the attack. She arced over Liss's head but held out one sword and dragged the tip down the back of Liss's armor as she fell. Liss screamed and let go, freefalling for a terrible second before she felt the ground come up and slam into her, knocking the breath from her lungs.

As fast as she could, Liss rolled onto her stomach and got her legs underneath her. But having her blood sucked coupled with all the bashing around was quickly taking its toll on her. She was just getting up when Thena cried, "Grasp of Justice!" and Liss was yanked off her feet by a giant transparent shape in the form of a hand and toward Thena. Before Liss could even think of defending herself Thena slashed her across the chest again, cutting deep into her scarred armor.

But hell if Liss was going down without a fight. With all her flagging strength she swung her fist with the bladed bracelet at the side of Thena's head. There was a clang and Thena's head jerked to one side, and the hand holding Liss faded away. Desperately she pressed her attack with a desperate upward slash with the blade up Thena's chest. That time sparks flew from her body, and Liss grabbed for her opponent's wrists and slammed them together, trying to force Thena to drop those damned swords. Once, and her fingers loosened. Twice, and her right hand opened and actually let the weapon go. Third, and…

Thena's foot swung up and smashed into Liss's face. For a second everything turned red, and by the time Liss could see again Thena held her remaining sword high. "White Blade of Fury!" Thena cried, and as she did her weapon erupted with white flame. She slashed it with all her might down Liss's chest, and Liss screamed with pain as the blow sent her flying.

"You aren't the slightest bit worthy of the power you carry, outsider!" Thena shouted.

With the last bit of her energy, ignoring the sparks fountaining off every piece of her armor and the bolts of jagged energy shooting from the buckle, Liss managed to drag herself to her feet. "Strato…Kick…" she gasped out, then took a faltering run and jump-kicked at Thena.

With much greater grace and force, Thena ran toward Liss and launched a jump kick of her own. "Libra Kick!" she yelled, her scream almost shaping into a smile. They collided, and there was an explosion that ripped chunks from the school wall fifteen feet away.

Thena waved away the smoke from the blast, scanning in all directions for her nemesis. She just missed Liss, armor gone, clothing torn and bleeding in eight places, crawling behind the corner of the school building and clutching the buckle to her chest. She didn't stop after getting out of sight, and especially didn't stop as Thena gave a frustrated cry.

Back and forth Thena looked, trying to find the buckle and card. She peered into shattered classroom windows, eliciting choruses of panicked screams as she looked for the items. But she could detect no trace of their power, even dormant. She screamed with frustration again, knocked a hole in the wall of the school with one punch, and the air around her blurred before she vanished from sight.

XXX

It was a long time before Liss stumbled out of the shed where she'd been hiding once she managed to get away from campus. She limped two blocks to the Sandy Burger on the corner. She was feeling faint after everything that had happened to her, and the thought of food, even something as greasy as a fast food burger, was the only thing on Liss's mind.

When she got inside the door the flatscreen in the back was playing the news, with a picture of a one-story house. "Claude Sanchez was found dead in his home by a friend this afternoon. Sanchez was a vice principal at Samuel Archer High School. Neighbors who knew him say he was a hard-working man and on the neighborhood watch. At present, police have declined to release any details concerning the cause of Sanchez's death."

Yeah, Liss thought, they're not saying anything because a vampire sucked him dry. "Hey," she called out to the girl behind the counter, who looked back at her nervously. "Could I get a Double Sandy Burger, a medium drink and some Sandy Nuggets?"

"Sure," the girl said, eyes still darting around, only relaxing a little after Liss handed over her money. The girl slid the receipt and a red and white cup across the counter to her. "Order number thirty-four."

"Thanks," Liss said, and stepped into the restaurant's tiny bathroom. She'd never been one to care much about makeup or flawless hair, but she took a few minutes to wash the blood and grime from her fight off and try to straighten her hair as much as she could.

For a minute she inspected the girl with the unkempt black hair, torn jacket and jeans looking back at her in the mirror. She wondered what it might be like if she was the kind of girl who cared so much about making her reflection as good as it could be. If things different, if she and her family hadn't started fighting. She wouldn't be picking fights at school, that was for sure. Or starting things with the faculty, and hanging around people like Ben Corland.

Would she have a normal boyfriend, think about her looks and have a shelf full of pink teddy bears in her room? If so, she probably would've run screaming when a knight and a giant spider appeared out of thin air in front of her. No, she probably would've been daydreaming in the back of class instead of skipping that day completely…

Not that it mattered now, she thought as she pulled the buckle out and sat it down on the counter next to her. The crystal ball seated in it was cracked down the middle, and the front of the sword card was singed black. They'd made her so powerful, but now they were just pieces of junk.

Barely aware of what she was doing, Liss fished her phone out of her back pocket. The screen was cracked all to hell, but still responded enough for her to dial her home phone number. Nobody answered, even though her mom was usually home by then. As the voice mail recorder started, she heard herself say, "Mom, dad, it's Liss. I know we never talk to each other anymore, we never listen to each other anymore. But I have to tell you about something that happened to me today…you've probably heard about some kind of terrorist attack or something at the school. I'm not kidding, they were after me. I'm not making it up, I'm not freaking out and imagining things. They might come after you too. Please, go somewhere safe. I don't know who it is and I don't know how long they'll keep looking for me or if they'll come after you, but I'll figure something out for myself." She hung up.

A scream came from outside, and Liss hurriedly grabbed the buckle and card before looking around for another way out of the bathroom, but there was no window and only a tiny air vent. Slowly she pulled open the door…

…and looked up and froze, only faintly aware of the cold feeling on her arm. The girl behind the counter was ALL THE WAY behind the counter now, cowering on the floor by one of the fryers in the back. Liss didn't entirely blame her, because standing in the middle of the restaurant was a man who looked like he was on the way to a Renaissance Festival. He had on a green Robin Hood hat (what were those really called?) atop his blond pageboy haircut. His outfit consisted of a green and black checked tunic, white pants and yellow leather shoes what curled out slightly at the toes. Over one shoulder he had a hobo stick with a blue bundle dangling from the end. He had a subdued little smile on his face and maintained a respectful distance.

"And who the hell are you supposed to be?" Liss asked.

"I'm known by many names, but the one I've been called the most often is Jack. I come on behalf of a friend who can't come himself," he replied, calm and confident.

Liss eyed him speculatively. "Yeah well, no offense but I haven't run into hardly anybody in the last day who didn't want to kill me."

Jack fished into his bundle and palmed something. "Perhaps a token of my goodwill…?" he said, holding up a thin rectangular object. It was a card, like her ruined sword one, but dark green and with a gold circle with a five-pointed star on the inside. Jack held it out for her to take, which she did.

"I don't think this is gonna do me any good," Liss said.

"I'm aware," Jack replied. "But the friend I represent can help with that, if you'd like to continue the adventure…" He offered his hand to her.

"What about my food?" At that the girl behind the counter scrambled for a spatula and flipped two patties still on the grill. With trembling hands she pulled out a pair of buns and finished Liss's double burger and put all the greasy delights into a bag. Then as fast as she could she skittered to the back of the food prep area again.

"I believe we're making the young lady nervous," Jack said with a hint of a smirk. "Shall we be off Miss…Liss, wasn't it?"

Liss looked at him, still uncertain, but then grabbed her food and Jack's outstretched hand.

And then they were gone.

XXX

As soon as she saw where she was, Liss sucked in a panicked breath and held it. She looked over at Jack, who looked back with a smile and made a show of sucking in a breath and letting it go again.

They were drifting through a black void with stars or something looking very like them drifting past, but in just a second there was a flash of light in front of them Liss saw a giant transparent ball. Inside were a series of disc-shaped layers one above the next, and on them Liss could make out desert plains, fields of yellow grass, mountains, towns and even oceans and lakes that for some reason didn't drip down to the levels below. Piercing through the layers were long spikes of blue and white crystal at sharp angles, but weirdest of all was how the layer in the center had a circular hole in the middle where a large blue orb with patches of green hovered, and two balls of shining light and a white crescent-shaped object drifted around slowly.

"Welcome to the Sphere!" Jack laughed. "A strange place, but a world of adventure, as you outsider-folk say!"

"Where are we going?" Liss asked.

"As I said, to meet a friend! Hold tight now, Miss!" They flew toward the outer edge of the Sphere near the middle layer and Liss gasped and held her free arm up in front of her face, but only felt a rippling that started at her head and pass down her body before stopping at her feet. As it did the feeling of flying started to die away and the ground came closer. They were over a range of dusty hills, and coming to a low spot between a few of them with a few dead trees the only thing breaking up the view. Liss and Jack landed in the middle of them, Liss with a couple rough staggering steps.

"Come on, we're almost there," Jack said and walked over to the side of one of the hills, but instead of going up it he walked straight through the side and disappeared. Taking a deep breath, Liss followed and found herself in a small cave with a rock formation in the middle that was flat on top like a table. A weird green light came from the roof of the cave, Liss feeling cold on her arm again as it did. "I've brought her, Shardak, as you asked," Jack called out.

"As if I need you to tell me!" replied a wizened voice. The green light from the roof suddenly seeped down and collected over the table, forming itself into the face of an old man with a long, thick beard and wearing a hood. "Hello, young lady," he said, and it took Liss a second before she recognized his voice as the one that had told her the names of her powers during her fights. "I'm sure you have many questions."

Liss pulled out the buckle and sword card, and set them on the table. "Why don't we start with the obvious ones? What are these, and who are you?"

Shardak smiled faintly at such a response. "A good place to start, I suppose. Jack and what's left of me are two of a race of creatures who call ourselves the Arcana. Long ago we came into being, to guide and guard the people of the Sphere, I would think."

"You think?" Liss asked, and Jack chuckled before taking a seat on the edge of the stone table.

Jack smiled. "The truth is, Miss, even we're not sure where it is the Arcana came from, and why," he explained. "One day we were just here, not knowing why, and eventually we found out about the rest of our kind. For the most part we've done our best to guide and guard, as Shardak said, the people of the Sphere. That being where we are now, of course."

That sounded like the start to a big explanation to Liss, who sank to the floor and bit into her hamburger. Finally a little strength started to return to her aching body. Shardak watched her for a second, then cleared his throat and continued. "Quite. For some time the people needed little protection, though, the Sphere having few creatures that could endanger them, and the people being hearty warriors themselves. We were mainly tasked with gathering knowledge, helping the peoples develop new settlements and exploring the world beyond ours…well some of us did. A few outsiders even made it to the Sphere, and claimed they were able to see visions of the future through some kind of divination medium we inspired. Jack, what did they call it?" Beneath his beard Liss thought she saw one side of his mouth curl up in a smirk.

"Tarot, I believe," Jack said, quickly and sourly. He pulled a book with a blank blue cover out of his bundle and flipped it open.

"Not fond of the name they gave him," Shardak whispered with a wink, then looked down at the buckle and a smoky green hand formed out of the light comprising him. The index finger pointed and a beam lanced from the tip that traced along the crack in the dome, closing the crack as it went.

Liss regarded them silently for a second, wondering at the craziness she was hearing before pointing to the buckle. "And what about that? Where'd it come from?"

"I'm getting to that," Shardak said placatingly. "As I said, some of the Arcana visited your world but mostly we kept to our own. The four tribes flourished, and there was hardly a corner of the Sphere they hadn't settled-"

"But then," Jack interrupted, smirking, "THEY came…"

"That is NO laughing matter, Jack," Shardak rebuffed him. "But he's correct, after some centuries a group of strange, powerful beings that echoed the creatures from legends in your world appeared. Their abilities equaled ours, and for all our immortality the Arcana could be hurt, even killed by them. Most of us retreated to our cities to have our backs against the wall with our allies as fought them. We called them the Mythos, and the Fate Driver was my attempt to let the members of the four tribes aid us in standing against them."

Jack snapped his book closed and stood up. "Ah, but that cost you among the rest of us, eh Shardak? You have to understand, Miss, the Mythos appearing was a great shock to the Arcana, and different groups of thought sprang up as the fight with the Mythos worsened. There were quite a few of us who weren't in favor of creating more beings with the power to equal ours.

"But I get ahead of myself. The rulers of each tribe had an object that was a symbol of their right to lead, you see. Shardak here was one of the strongest of us, and knew a few tricks when it came to things with supernatural powers…he turned them into cards like the ones you used to fight those Mythos before, and my little enticement to come back here. The hope was for each of the four tribes to be able to appoint a champion to help fight back the Mythos. That was, until the strongest of them came along before more than one Fate Driver could be finished. Shardak hasn't exactly been the same since…"

"That's even LESS of a laughing matter!" Shardak snapped, then sighed. "However, as you've seen, Miss-"

"Liss," she said.

"Liss, as you've seen, the Mythos have returned recently. If you're willing, you could be a great help to us as a new Tarock," Shardak said. As he did he waved his hand to indicate the crack in the buckle, the Fate Driver, had finished mending.

"Oh yeah?" Liss replied. "Not that I don't think I couldn't handle those monsters, but don't you guys have people for that? That psycho bitch with the swords…"

Jack smiled strangely. "That's more or less the point. The last time the Mythos attacked, most of the Sphere's people retreated into the primary territory of the two empires we have here, Mazones and Avalon. They've just begun to have the courage to settle outside again, and we're afraid that after spending so long inside city walls having the Arcana responsible for their protection, the Mythos's reappearance will only make that dependence worse. If a new Tarock were to have success driving back the Mythos, though, it's our hope that the four tribes could be reinvigorated. Take up arms themselves again. We tried that with someone from here, but, well…you know what happened to him even better than we do."

Liss them with disbelieving eyes. "Wait, you guys have been watching me since yesterday, right? That's how you told me what to do in the fights…and you think I'm the big hero you've been waiting for?"

"Why not?" Shardak answered as if it were a stupid question. "You're strong and confident. Clearly you aren't content to let anyone shape your destiny but yourself. The temper leaves something to be desired, but…" He trailed off, probably not sure how to finish that sentence in a way that wouldn't make Liss mad. His spectral hand lifted the scorched sword card, and he frowned. "It's going to be a bit longer before the Swords Card is usable again…"

Liss couldn't help feeling a little reassured to hear Shardak saying it could be fixed. "So you said there's four tribes, and there's a card for all of them? Where's the other two?"

With a sigh, Shardak set the card down again and held up his ghostly hands to tell her to wait. "Consider what you've heard before agreeing. There others among the Arcana who will distrust you and even try to kill you, as you've already seen. If you accept, there will be further conflicts, and we beg you not to enter into this lightly."

With that, Jack stood up and handed Liss the Fate Driver. "Think on it, Liss. That's all we ask." After Liss tucked the driver back into her jacket he led the way back outside before offering Liss his hand, which she took. Then they were flying off again toward the black void beyond the wall of the Sphere. There was only a single point of light that grew closer and until everything went white, and they were standing in a tiny park Liss recognized as being not too far away from her school.

"Think on it, Liss," Jack reminded her, and turned to depart.

"Wait! How'm I supposed to get back if I say yes?" she asked.

"The Fate Driver will show the way," he replied, and smirked. "Although you might find it more…stylish to find something to channel it through. Oh, I nearly forgot. Close your eyes."

She did. "Try anything and I'll break your arm," she warned, though.

"Perish the thought," Jack answered before she felt him place his palm on her forehead and a sudden wave of warmth passed through her body, lingering for a few seconds on her closed eyes before Jack released her.

"What did you do?" Liss asked when she opened her eyes and everything looked the same.

He smirked and turned on his heel before walking away, hobo stick slung over his shoulder. "You'll see when you inspect your new prize, Liss," he said. Then he walked off, his form getting blurrier with every step, until he was gone.

Curious, Liss did as he said and pulled out the new card he'd given her. On the front it was the same as she'd seen with no new surprises, but she flipped it over and there on the back were lines of weird, alien symbols.

And she could understand them…

XXX

Peace. Thena knew what was coming, but she was at peace as she sat on the floor of her chamber in the palace of Mazones.

Dearly she loved her empress and the empire itself, but that cabinet session with the other Arcana had just reinforced her certainty that often a consensus couldn't be reached on even something as dire as the bane of their kind resurfacing. No, if anything was going to be resolved, it almost always took a single person willing to take that ever-so daring first step and make the problem their personal responsibility. Fools as well as cowards, did they want to be facing danger that could threaten even the likes of them on two different fronts?

She could hear the sound of quick, apprehensive footsteps approaching and put her helmet back on before her privacy was disturbed. In another moment the door creaked open. "Dame Thena," a servant whispered, "the empress is ready to receive you."

"I'm coming," she said, and followed him out of her chamber. He hurried along, clearly not eager to be caught between two of the most powerful Arcana with what was obviously coming. When they were outside the empress's private rooms, he opened the door for her and as soon as Thena was inside shut it and bolted down the hall.

Maeve's chambers were richly decorated with pictures and ornate statuary, but the only light in the room to see anything by came from the fireplace in the sitting room outside her bedroom. She was sitting in her high-backed chair, watching the front door as Thena arrived. "Do you realize what you cost me, today?" she said coldly.

Thena bowed deeply. "I acted only in the interests of the empire, my lady. It was clear the others were capable only of bickering amongst themselves, while the danger facing Mazones was only doubling. I tried to show them decisive action is our best hope."

The empress clutched the arm of her chair and the wood cracked. "You made a fool of me in front of the few Arcana who are willing to offer their aid to us in any form by running off like that. We may have lost them completely. Have you anything to show for your display?"

"I may not have killed Tarock, but I have crippled the Fate Driver."

"Hrrrmm. You underestimate Shardak," Maeve said dubiously.

"Shardak is dead," Thena replied. "It's time his legacy joined him."

Dust fell from the ceiling and the stones shook, but all at once Maeve feel back into her chair and sighed. "Thena, you're like my own daughter. If anyone's going to turn against me, don't let it be you."

Slowly, Thena rose and approached Maeve, and gently put her hand on her ruler's shoulder. She whispered, "Never. Your disappointment scares me so much more than your power, I only did what I did for the sake of the empire."

"I know…," the empress whispered.

XXX

The knock was quick and just soft enough for the apartment's occupants to hear. For a minute there was no answer, and Liss hoped she hadn't timed things so Paige was in the shower. But then the door slid open just a crack, the chain lock jangling. "Liss?" a woman asked.

"Hi, Kelly," Liss said with a weary smile. "Is Paige home yet?"

The chain came off and Liss slipped inside the apartment. It was nothing fancy, with mostly secondhand furniture and electronics. "Not yet, but she called and said she was on her way a little while ago," said Kelly, who was a skinny young woman with dazzling blue eyes and pale red hair. "Liss, I heard there was a bombing or something at a high school today…was it the one you go to?" Although Liss's disheveled appearance was a telling answer by itself.

"Yeah, it was, and that's why I need to talk to Paige ASAP. She knows why it really happened," Liss said.

Kelly fidgeted. "Look, Liss, I don't want Paige getting mixed up in terrorist stuff…"

"I'm not the one who did it, they were after me! Because of this!" Liss produced the Fate Driver and held it up for Kelly to see.

"What's all the yelling about? Is my punkass kid sister in there?" someone from outside called, and then Paige walked in. "What's wrong, Liss? More of those monsters come after you?"

Kelly gaped. "You KNOW about this?"

"Only since yesterday," Paige said defensively, but the edge to her voice trailed off at the end, Paige clearly not blaming Kelly for the withering look she was getting. "What is it, Liss?"

"It is sort of about the monsters, yeah. But there's these other guys who made the stuff I use to change…they want me to go save the world. Their world. Because they're from a different one," Liss explained.

Paige arched her eyebrow and look down at Liss. "And what does that have to do with me?" she asked.

"We need to finish fixing that bike after all. To save the world," Liss grinned.

XXX

Once again the light of Shardak's hidden sanctuary came together to form his face as he sensed he wasn't alone. The familiar outline of a wiry man carrying a hobo stick over one shoulder approached, and the old wizard relaxed. "Do you think she'll accept, Jack?" he asked.

The wanderer set down his stick and leaned against the wall before looking up at Shardak uncertainly. "Likely, but let me ask you, do you really think she's the one we want?"

"I don't see that there's time to hope otherwise," Shardak sighed. "We need to turn things around and we need to start now. The Mythos are multiplying dangerously, and after Owan's desperate little ploy I'm worried they might well be interested in the world outside as well."

"You really think so?"

Again Shardak sighed. "See for yourself," he said, and then the image of his bearded face swirled and was replaced by a scene of the yard behind Samuel Archer High School, where an inhuman shape was already starting to coalesce…

XXX

Next time on Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt…

Paige: Is this really what you want out of life, Liss?

(Paige and Liss toil on the motorcycle)

Liss: I get the feeling it's too late to back out.

(A shadowed Mythos with a long tail curved over its head stares out from a rainy alley)

Female Voice: Come to the Sphere, outsider. Become the emblem of Shardak's folly…

(Tarock assumes a new green-armored form, carrying a huge warhammer)

Narrator: Your fate is in your hands.

XXX

Hey everybody, thanks for sticking it out this long. I know Tarock's a departure from a great many standards of Kamen Rider, the most obvious of which being a female protagonist. Personally, I'd like to see this more often, maybe not as the headliner but not as the least prominent/least powerful character in the show as they tend to be when one shows up at all.

Second, Liss isn't of the straight-up hero variety, and has an adversarial relationship with a lot of people in her life. The reason for that is I'm attempting a more drastic character arc than you usually see with the main characters of these shows. This isn't a story with a villain protagonist, promise, but it is one where I'm attempting a bigger change from start to finish, and maybe some more shades of gray than usual.

Thid, there's, well, a prevalent third party to the story in the Arcana besides the rider and the Mythos themselves. Immortal, powerful, but far from infallible, which can make them even more dangerous. Based on the Major Arcana from a tarot deck, there are quite a few of them, but I promise to make an effort not to overwhelm readers. There'll be reminders of who's who and they won't show up a lot at a time. Bonus points if you can tell which cards the ones we've seen so far were based on.

Fourth, I'm getting the story's info page at Spectrum of Madness reorganized for the new version. Check it out sometime to see the current artwork for the series, and if you need any help keeping the Arcana straight.

Thank you very much for giving an offbeat KR fic a look! Hope you'll stick around for more!

Also, anybody catch the anime reference in this chapter?


	5. Chapter 5: Shift Runner

Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt – Reading Five: Shift Runner

Previously, disillusioned student Liss Decker found herself in possession of an artifact that gave her the ability to transform into Tarock, a warrior with incredible strength and powers. And by doing so, was soon under attack by hostile beings called the Mythos, who were invading another world called the Sphere but who had begun to appear on Earth as well. Liss was approached by a pair of immortals whose kind had inspired the tarot, and asked to become their champion against the Mythos, even though others of their kind might not be so welcoming. Given another card, and with it new powers, Liss agreed to think it over…

The TV spilled an eerie light over Paige's living room as the comedy block faded into the evening news. Kelly looked over from the edge of the couch and gave an irritated glance to Liss where she sat on the floor, but Liss ignored it. Two days before she would've had the same reaction to someone telling her a story about knights, giant spiders and vampires who could turn into obnoxious vice principals.

A somber-faced anchor addressed his viewers, "Our top story tonight concerns Samuel Archer High School, which was the site of a disaster this afternoon only hours before its vice principal was found murdered in his home. Police are declining to comment on the nature of the attack on the school at present, but students and faculty say they felt the building shaking as if it was being bombed. Others also describe attackers diving through second-floor windows."

Kelly looked disparagingly over at Paige. "You've seen Liss fighting these 'monsters,' then?" she asked.

Paige looked back. "I've seen enough, and landing right in the middle of trouble is just like my little sister. Besides, she's finally found something she's passionate about, and I don't think I'm prepared to tell a wizard he's wrong." A soft smile formed on Liss's face. That kind of thing was why Paige was the only member of her family she didn't mind talking to anymore.

"That's IT?!" Kelly exploded. "She's found something she's PASSIONATE about? Monsters?! Here, give me that magic…thing of yours!"

"Are you-" Liss protested, but Paige held up a hand.

"Let her try it, Liss," Paige said, and with an indignant look up at Kelly, Liss pulled out the Fate Driver and the new card and handed them to Kelly. She pressed the Fate Driver against her waist, but no belt strap shot out and clicked into the other side as it had when Liss had used it. She pushed the card into the slot on top, but the top stuck out, refusing to stay inside no matter how long Kelly held it down.

"What now?" Kelly asked.

"Say 'transform'."

"Transform," Kelly repeated, but nothing happened. "Transform!" Kelly tried again, but still nothing. Liss took them back, and the belt obligingly looped around her waist and clicked into place.

"Transform!" Liss called.

"Pentacles Suit!" the Fate Driver said, and her increasingly familiar black undersuit formed around her before a green outline traveled down her body, a sheet of thick green armor solidified all over her, along with Y-like crest on her forehead, unlike her previous form where the armor was concentrated her mask, torso, forearms and boots.

Liss left a speechless Kelly to walk into the bathroom and stare at her reflection for a long time in the mirror. It seemed a weird thing to do, but she'd never really looked at herself in the suit before. Having a monster intent on killing her tended to hog her attention, she was finding. "So this is what it looks like…" she mumbled, noticing more how she felt in it than what she saw in the mirror.

With the red armor she'd felt stronger and faster than she ever had, and she was sure she was already ahead of anyone in her age bracket in either department. This time she only felt stronger, but a lot more than she had with the other suit. Would all of them have different specialties, once she'd found them? Or rather, when Shardak had told her where to find the other cards?

Paige knocked on the door frame, interrupting her. "I'm only letting you stay so that if any monsters show up, you can kill 'em, got it?" she said. "But seriously, get some sleep. We're starting first thing in the morning and you're crazy if you think I'm starting without you."

"Hey, Paige? Thanks. I really mean it." The green card ejected from the buckle and into her hand, switching her back to normal.

"I know, kid. I know. But I mean it too, get some sleep. And kill any monsters that show up, got it? And do it quiet, I been up all day."

Liss gave a quick nod. "I will!...Wait, what?"

* * *

It was barely 6:45 when the blare of the morning news stirred Liss from her sleep on the living room couch. She helped—with prodding—to make breakfast, and only burned the eggs a little. The sun was just peeking out when they arrived at the garage. Liss was immediately set to work making a pot of coffee as Paige wheeled the bike onto the center of her workspace and got out her tools.

Over the next couple hours the two of them cleaned, checked, mended and replaced parts and systems, but Liss's hands were black inside the first two minutes.

"Hey, Liss?" Paige asked after a while.

"Yeah? Want me to start her up?"

"No, but I want you to think about something," Paige replied, and ignored Liss's groan. "I know what I said to Kelly, but…Is this what you want out of life? Going to some weird other planet you don't know anything about and fighting monsters? And really think about it, don't just say yes."

"I think it's too late to back out," Liss answered.

Paige threw down her rag in frustration. "Damn it, Liss-"

But Liss raised a hand for a reprieve. "I'm saying that because I have already thought about it. And I'm serious, I do think it's too late for me to back out. The monsters already hunted me down twice, right? Unless I go on frigging TV about it, they'll probably still think I have the stuff and come after me again trying to get it. And if I don't have it, I'm gonna get killed. That enough thinking for you?"

Paige nodded, but added, "And what about the rest of us? What if they think to come after mom and dad, or me and Kelly? So they can get you in a position where you can't fight back?"

"They could've done that before now, but they didn't. They always came straight for me," Liss answered. "It doesn't seem like that's how they work. If I go to this other place and make some noise to let people know that's where I am, that's probably where they'll come to find me."

"Mmmmhmmm," Paige mumbled dubiously, then held up her empty coffee mug. "Refill."

Grumbling lightly, Liss got up to refill Paige's mug, then her own. She dipped into the bag of sugar, only to find it empty.

"Paige! We're out of sugar," Liss called.

"Then quit eating it straight out of the bag."

"I'm going to get more! Be right back!" Liss said and dashed out the door, leaving the mugs on the counter.

As she ran down to the little market on the next block over, Liss's steps slowed as she realized something. Who knew if they had markets or sugar or coffee on the Sphere. Or showers. Or tex-mex food. What about money? What would she do for that?

But no, she thought. There would be differences, but she'd adapt. After all, there had been a time when she wasn't snapping back at her parents and ditching school, and she was getting by okay…

As she walked up to the store there was a petite blonde woman in a grubby coat and jeans blocking the door with her arms while a small group of shoppers tried to edge around her. Suddenly a little boy and his mother pushed against the door to the left and managed to force their way past the woman who fell halfway out the door. The other shoppers hurried out before she could get back up. "Hey, wait…! I still have some questions!" she wailed as she watched her former captives run for their lives. Her face brightened as she saw Liss looking down at her. "You! I bet you know something about what happened at the school yesterday!"

"And who the hell are you?"

"Someone looking for the truth of that story! Someone willing to believe in the fantastic!"

"That would've been a lot more impressive if you weren't laying on the ground," Liss pointed out. The lady got up, dusted herself off and suddenly a business seemed to appear in her hand as if by magic. After everything she'd seen the last few days, Liss backed off a step out of instinct.

"What? It won't bite you."

"Lady, you were the one talking about 'the fantastic' a second ago."

The woman pressed the card into Liss's hand, and Liss glanced down at it, not eager to take her eyes off any weirdoes after what she'd seen. "Sue Gand, American Graphic. 555-555-8439. Um, great?"

"I'm here checking out the attack on the school yesterday," Sue explained.

"I don't go to school," Liss said, then tried to give the card back and get inside the market as fast as she could. Sue went after her.

"Oh yeah? Haven't heard anything about what happened? Got some people saying there were monsters there. One was like a giant bat," Sue pressed, trying to get a reaction from Liss. "A couple people even said they saw some kind of superhero in red and black fight it off."

"Sounds like they put something funny in the mystery meat yesterday," Liss mumbled, grabbing a box of sugar packets. She hurried to the front, where the man behind the register looked up nervously as Sue continued to follow after Liss.

"How amusing. Mind if I quote you on that?" she asked.

"Look, lady? Maybe you should talk to actual witnesses instead of some random person buying sugar," Liss suggested, threw some bills at the cashier and bolted with her precious cargo. She was around the corner before anyone could've seen her, practically flying down an alley and going around another until she joined up with one of the first routes she'd taught herself to lose someone tailing her. Through a crack in the side of a brick wall and then up the wall, into the second story window of the old shoe factory. Then onto the roof if that old metal ladder was still holding, which it did even though brick dust showered from where it was bolted to the top of the crumbling wall. Last time she'd use that one, Liss thought, and realized it was probably true in more ways than one.

As soon as she was up to the top, it was an easy jump to the next roof, and from there—

"Hey! You with the sugar!"

Liss looked down in surprise and saw Sue looking up at her and waving. She was expecting to see a triumphant smirk on her pursuer's face for spotting her, but instead Sue was looking up at her with eyes narrowed slightly in irritation. "I need to talk to you!" Sue yelled.

"Get lost, lady!" Liss yelled back and jumped to the next roof. The next was a short hop from that, and then she jumped onto the top of the pile of junk cars in the little scrapyard behind the building. She jumped to the hood of the car underneath, then to the ground and pushed aside the loose fence plank she'd found there. A quick glance around showed her Sue was nowhere in sight, and after a two-block sprint down to the dry concrete riverbed that bisected town, the coast still looked to be clear.

Liss slid down the side and ran into a drainage outlet that hadn't tasted water in years. She waited for a few minutes and saw Sue run by on street level, and to her annoyance stopped and looked around. Then Sue bent down and peered into the tunnel where Liss was hiding. "Hey, I just want ask a few questions, Liss!"

It was plain to see this was getting her nowhere, so Liss stepped out into the open and climbed to the street. "Where'd you hear that name?" she demanded, wanting to know just why she was worth all this attention.

"From a young man whose mind you absolutely blew when you turned into a superhero in front of him," Sue answered. "He didn't miss a thing in describing you, either. He must've been looking VERY hard."

Well, that explained it all, didn't it? Even when he wasn't around, Ben Corland couldn't resist making life hell for her. And in saving his life from a gang of monsters, all she'd done was give him the biggest excuse he'd ever have to do that. "Look, lady-" Liss started to say, but was interrupted as Sue's pocket started to ring and she dug out a scuffed smart phone.

"What is it, Alex? I'm talking to the key witness here." Sue said in exasperation. "I KNOW it's a long way from Rittersburg, and I KNOW how much gas costs these days, but you know better than to write off a monster sighting."

Liss was about to bolt with her pursuer handily distracted, but all of a sudden she sank to her knees, but was only barely aware of the fact with her very mind seeming to go numb with cold. There was a thick white haze over everything she looked at, and her ears buzzed harshly.

The buzzing slowly seemed to condense, and Liss stiffened in terror as she felt a tiny secondary presence in her mind. Through the haze, could feel it calling out to something powerful and alien nearby. Something that was calling back. Something vastly, PAINFULLY more powerful than any of the strange beings she'd yet encountered.

Thankfully the haze and the yearning for contact in the back of her mind were already fading, but what was that? Was it the full experience of the cold sensation she felt right before running into a Mythos or Arcanum? Whatever the answer, it would need to wait. She was probably about to land in big trouble.

"I'll tell you why, you hired me because the last lady to have this beat quit. And you can tell Troy I don't believe that's his real name, too. Hey…kid, you all right?" Sue asked. When Liss looked around feverishly without answering, she said into her phone. "Hey Alex, a lead just fell in my lap. Gotta go." She put the phone away and looked down at Liss again. "Seriously kid, what's up?"

"Something's here," Liss croaked. "Something really, really strong."

"So you're admitting to everything," Sue said, but didn't press the point and started to survey the area. "Hey!" she said suddenly, and pointed. Liss followed her finger and saw someone in a dirty black robe shuffling up the canal. They took another two steps and fell forward.

Sue and Liss jumped the guardrail and slid down to the bottom of the canal, but Sue was the first by the stranger's side. "Hey, are you okay? Do you need a doctor?"

The person in the robe raised her head to look at them, and they could see the thin, dirt-smudged face of a girl about Liss's age. Her dark hair was tangled and her gray eyes bleary. She made a futile attempt to get back up, and they saw her legs and feet were bare, and marked by scrapes and bruises. "I am…lost," she choked out in a dry voice.

"Lost? Where are you going? Maybe we can help," Sue offered.

"Don't volunteer me like that," Liss grunted.

"Why not? You're supposed to be some kind of superhero, right? Isn't that what they do?"

Liss was about to snipe back, but wasn't that what Shardak asked her to be? Did that mean the goodness of her heart had to be why she said yes to the powers of Tarock, though? The girl shook her head then, and said, "No, I am…Lost. That is…me."

"Okay, then…Lost," Sue replied. "Are you okay? Do you need some kind of help?"

"I must find her. She calls to me," Lost answered, then managed to get up and limp closer to Liss. "She calls to me…"

"I don't call you," Liss said. Lost lurched closer and held out her hand, a looking of longing on her face, and Liss braced herself as she started to feel cold again, but then it stopped and Lost's face fell.

"You aren't her…!" she said in shocked disappointment.

"Who, Lost? Who calls to you?" Sue pressed.

"Watch out, it's her!" Liss yelled.

"What's her?" Sue asked.

"She's the thing I sensed just now!"

Lost's turned an incandescent black and she clutched her head. "She calls to me," Lost wailed. "She says terrible, terrible things…but it's the only way to stop the SOUNDS!"

A jet of a black liquid spewed from Lost's mouth, then curved upward into the sky, covering it with a thick black cloud. Thunder cracked and heavy rain started to fall. Sue looked over at Liss to ask what was going on, but Liss had already thrown her box of sugar aside and locked the Fate Drive around her waist and was slapping her new green card inside. "Transform!"

"Pentacles Suit!"

As soon as the thick green armor solidified, Liss was stomping toward Lost. The rain picked up almost as if in response to her intended attack on in its creator and turned to sharp fragments of sleet that pelted against Liss's body. Sue screamed and went diving into the nearest sewage outlet for cover.

More of the dark rain was puddling in front of Lost, but as Liss looked closer it wasn't just making a puddle it was making a _pile_, like some kind of slime, that was already starting to quiver. Liss jumped forward to restrain Lost but the slime suddenly shot up and blocked her, and batted her aside with a thick rubbery arm. By the time Liss had gotten back up it had shaped itself into a towering creature roughly the shape of a person, but covered in chitin armor that was a poisonous yellow in color. Instead of hands it had scissor-like claws, each a foot from tip to wrist. A multitude of tiny beady eyes were lodged in its face above a pair of clacking mandibles, and a long tail with a curved stinger waved back and forth above its head.

"Bane of the hunter, Scorpio, arise," Lost croaked hoarsely, barely understandable over the rain. "No…stop putting them in my head…please…!"

Liss climbed to her feet. She'd only been winded by the monster's punch, but she was still sore in a lot of places from the beating she'd taken in her last fight. At least this time it wasn't some twelve-foot behemoth in her way.

The monster sprang and Liss jumped back. Not as far as she'd been able with the other set of armor, but nearly twenty feet beyond the impact of its attack was okay by her, though. Flecks of concrete from the bottom of the riverbed bounced off her mask from the force of the monster's attack…he could probably do a lot of damage if he got the chance.

But this time, she had an advantage. Thanks to Jack's parting gift, this time she already knew what she could.

Liss passed her hand in front of the Fate Driver and light flashed from the dome, and then a warhammer with a two foot-long head stamped with a five-pointed star, a pentacle, appeared in front of her: the Gran Crusher. She grasped the haft with both hands, and the monster clacked its pincers at her. Then in a blur of motion it grabbed for her neck with one, but Liss ducked just in time and swung her hammer, connecting with its side and knocking it back a few steps. Scorpio screeched then threw itself at her, claws outstretched.

Its claws closed around the haft of the Gran Crusher, Liss holding it out to block them from getting to her neck. Liss kicked Scorpio hard on in the side and knocked it off balance for the second it took her to roll onto her back and fling Scorpio with the superior strength this form gave her to land thirty feet away, green ichor seeping from its wound. Lost screamed and managed to get up and sprint up away from the fight.

"Wait!" shouted Liss, who wanted a few answers herself. She crouched and jumped to overtake Lost, but as she cleared the rock spikes suddenly Scorpio clamped one pincer around her ankle and she crashed back down. Scorpio dashed after Lost itself, and she screamed and fell again. As it got close, instead of attacking Scorpio turned and fixed its beady eyes on Liss, clacking its claws threateningly.

Liss gripped the Gran Crusher. So she'd have to go through the monster to get to Lost. Well, that was okay by her.

She jumped forward and shoulder-checked Scorpio in the chest. In the second it was vulnerable she spun and smashed her hammer into the side of Scorpio's head, and it jerked violently to one side. The Gran Crusher went up to deal another blow, but suddenly Scorpio lunged forward and pinned her forearms with his pincers and then its tail snaked forward and buried its stinger in the armor on her chest.

Liss struggled to break free, but as she did she noticed a feeling of heat where the stinger was embedded even with the icy rain that was still beating down. Desperately Liss kicked at Scorpio's stomach trying to force it off, the sharp sides of its claws cutting into her wrists. The heat grew and focused on a single tiny point, and Liss was sure it was just about to finish cutting through her armor. She headbutted Scorpio as hard as she could, slicing one eye open on her forehead's sharpened crest, and it hissed and let go of her wrists as it staggered back, and she grabbed its tail and yanked out the stinger before it could go any deeper. Scorpio whipped it out of her hand before she could snap it off.

The hole in her armor from where Scorpio had pierced it was actually smoking, and that was all Liss needed to go on the offensive before it had a chance to attack her again. She slammed one foot into its chest, staggering it, then landed a running jump-kick sending Scorpio flying into the air and over the rim of the canal. She jumped after him, raising the Gran Crusher above her head for the death blow, but without warning Scorpio rolled onto his back and then his arms extended out ten feet and grabbed her by the ankles, and she slammed straight down onto the street. The impact only knocked the wind out of her, but the Gran Crusher slid out of her reach.

Scorpio looked like some kind of demon as it loomed over her against the darkened sky, its tail whipping back and forth before stopping over one shoulder. A jet of hissing green venom shot out at her, and Liss grabbed the bladed bracelet from her belt, scraped it hard against the ground and screamed "Pent Defender!" The bracelet glowed for a second and then a circular hunk of rock came loose from the ground and stuck to it, looking like a shield, with the lines of a five-pointed star etched into the surface. The venom splattered against it and hissed as it melted away the shield, but it only lasted a second before losing its strength and the rock still held.

Quickly Liss released the shield and clasped her hands together. "Earth Fist!" She brought them down in front of her with a crash and a large rounded rock shot up from the street, and Liss punched it at Scorpio's head with all the heightened strength this new form gave her. Its head jerked back and she was able to wriggle free of its claws, and grab her hammer.

"Terra Bind!" She stamped her foot on the ground and long arms formed from dirt and asphalt reached out of the ground and seized Scorpio by its ankles and shoulders. It struggled, but already Liss was crouched and launched herself into the air.

"Grand Impact!" A five-pointed star formed in the street with the trapped Scorpio in its center, glowing white so fiercely it burnt away the darkness of the storm around it. The hammer erupted into red, fiery light as she brought it down on Scorpio with all of her might. The monster screamed, and exploded into blue-green slime.

With her enemy taken care of, Liss looked around to try to find Lost and saw her scrambling helplessly to crawl up the slippery side of the riverbed. For a second their eyes met, and Lost gaped at her in terror. "Wait, I just want-" Liss called, but it was too late. Lost had started to turn transparent and in a faded away completely.

"Damn it," Liss said, and sighed. The rain kept beating down, and splattered icily against her undersuit through the hole Scorpio had burnt through her armor. As she tried to figure out what to do next, the black cloud covering the sky started to turn gray and the pelting rain weakened. Seemed as if killing Scorpio had killed the power behind the storm, or maybe Lost leaving. As she considered the possibilities, something happened that made Liss freeze where she stood.

The rain she could feel on her suit was flowing downward. Not dripping off, _flowing_. The black water, or whatever it was, that had gathered into puddles was flowing over cracks and debris toward the pile of slime that was all that was left of Scorpio. It quivered and started to roll together and harden again. Liss brought the Gran Crusher up and slammed it into the growing mass but an arm formed itself out of one side and batted her aside.

Stars filled Liss's vision for a few seconds. The ground trembled and she desperately shook her head to clear her vision, and didn't like what she saw. Scorpio had been reborn, but not as a cross between a person and a scorpion. Now it was just a huge arachnid, almost sixteen feet from end to end. It turned to face her and she found herself looking into an eye the size of her entire head.

Scorpio's tail shot at Liss, who jumped back just before it could smash her into the street. She charged forward and swung at an eye with the Gran Crusher but Scorpio seized her around the middle with one claw and slammed her through a brick wall. It closed around her trying to chop her in two, and she heard a scream of terror as she smashed the Gran Crusher into the point where the pincers met and they flexed just enough for her to drop to the ground. It was only then she realized that scream had been hers.

She sprinted in an arc toward Scorpio's side to attack again, but its tail whipped around and sprayed a jet of acid toward her. Liss jumped out of the way and landed on the bridge crossing the canal, and ran for all she was worth across it just before Scorpio's tail lashed out and crushed it right behind her. This thing was too much for her the way things stood. She needed an edge…and knew where to find it, if it was ready.

Scorpio clacked its mandibles angrily at her, and Liss crouched and jumped as far as this form would let her before a claw shattered the ground where she'd been.

* * *

The door to the garage almost came right off its hinges. "Is it ready?"

"Where the hell have you been, Liss? We were supposed to do this togeth…what's with your voice? Oh shit, did you run into another one of those monsters out there?" Paige demanded.

"Yeah! Is it ready?" Liss asked again, dashing over to the bike and swinging her leg over to mount it. Then she tried to kick-start the engine, which only sputtered pitifully. She tried it again, and again only got a sputter from it. Liss snarled in frustration and was about to get off and just kick it, but as she did her body temperature seemed to rise, and then the heat flowed out through her hands, into the bike.

The engine roared to life, and a white glow spread over the rest of it. Within a few seconds it had solidified into thick metal plates all over the bike, colored pure black but with dark green stripes along the bottom of the plates. The headlight under the fairing had become a dark green. The light hadn't even worked the one time they'd gotten the bike to start at all.

The garage door clanked open as Paige lifted it up for Liss. "Did you know it would do that?" she shouted over the engine.

"Kind of!" Liss answered, smiling behind her mask. "Jack said there was something stylish I could use…these magic guys make you guess at everything, huh?"

"You'll have to tell me how you know that when you get back."

That made Liss bite her lip. "I don't know if I can come back right after this…I got a lead on where the monsters come from and I gotta chase it down as fast as I can."

Paige just nodded when she heard that, her face totally neutral. Liss squirmed a little in her seat. Somehow it was worth than if Paige had been angry with her answer. "Well then, guess you gotta do what you gotta do," Paige said. "Just come back and let me know what happens, okay? You're still my dumb little sister, and I worry."

"I will, don't worry!" Liss called before she revved the bike one more time and shot out of the garage like a missile. As she sped through the streets back to where she'd left Scorpio, Liss was turning hard enough the side of her boot almost brushed the ground. She expected if she looked back she'd be leaving flames in her wake.

A bike this cool didn't deserve to be thought of as just "her bike." It changed like she did with the Fate Driver, so what about…Shift Runner? Yeah, she liked the sound of that…

Scorpio was still on the street running by the riverbed, but a few of the old brick buildings nearby had been flattened by the angry monster. The hissing of Scorpio's acid venom reached her ears as she shot past a few. Liss hefted her hammer and rested it against her shoulder as she came up behind her enemy.

It was about to fire off another jet of its acid when Liss stood up and smashed the back of Scorpio's tail with the Gran Crusher. The blue-green ichor coated her weapon, and Liss glanced over her shoulder to see Scorpio clack its claws angrily and scramble after her. Chunks of rocks were knocked off the edge of the road by its pounding legs and tumbled down into the riverbed.

Liss leaned hard and the bike crashed through the old chain link fence on the edge of the riverbed. Scorpio jumped and landed in front of her, splaying its legs and claws so it blocked almost the entire span in front of her. Its tail oozed green blood from where she'd attacked it, but still it sprayed a plume of its venom at her, and followed as she swerved to avoid it. Small droplets struck her and the bike's armor, but she ignored it as she got close enough to her enemy to strike back.

Liss pulled back hard on the handlebars, popping a wheelie. "Earth…Needle!" she shouted and let the bike fall back on two wheels, and as it did there was a resounding boom and rock spikes twice the size of the ones she'd managed before erupted from the ground under Scorpio, impaling it in seven places. It screamed and wriggled to free itself, reaching out to try to snatch Liss as she sped by, missing by only a foot. Sighing in relief, she stopped and turned around again a hundred feet away.

Scorpio had lifted itself off the spikes and turned to charge Liss. She drove right at it as fast as she could with only one hand on the handlebars, whirling the Gran Crusher like a windmill with the other. The head glowed brighter with each rotation until it was a blazing golden wheel beside Liss. When she and Scorpio were hardly ten feet away, she yelled, "Riding Impact!" and threw the Gran Crusher.

The hammer shot like a streak of light and sliced into Scorpio's face. The monster didn't even cry out before slumping forward, lifeless, and melting into blue slush that turned into a blue vapor that was immediately carried away on the wind.

Liss pulled her bike to a stop and looked around, at the gray sky and the jagged remnants of brick walls from Scorpio's rampage. She was about to leave her familiar world behind. Who knew what the rest of the Sphere was like, or how the people would react to her, or when she'd be back again?

But no, she'd made up her mind. Liss turned around and looked up the riverbed. "Okay, Fate Driver," she said, feeling only a little self-conscious. "I don't know if you can hear me or how this works, but take me to the Sphere." She gunned the motor and was about to take off when a voice called out.

"That was amazing, kid!" Sue called, finally crawling out of her hiding spot. "Got time to pose for a couple pictures?!"

Liss sighed behind her mask, not in the mood for more people demanding things of her, and started to motor away. She'd been expecting to have to hit a certain speed before she jumped to the Sphere, but right away an opening of bright white light appeared in front of her. She passed through it and was drifting through the void outside the tiered world of the Sphere.

"Okay," Liss said, "take me to Lost."

The bike quivered for a second then stopped, and continued to drift slowly forward.

"Okay, then…take me to Shardak's hideout," Liss tried. It seemed like the words hadn't even left her mouth before the motorcycle turned sharply and started picking up speed, and Liss held tight onto the handlebars, afraid of what might happen if she fell off before getting inside. A second later the wall of the Sphere parted around her like water and the bike cruised to a stop just on the edge of some low, barren hills.

A wind whistled by, and Liss looked around at the brown hills with only a couple of stunted trees decorating their crests. She really was in another world now.

And she was on her own.

Suddenly she heard a snort, and saw she wasn't sitting on a motorcycle anymore…

* * *

Next time on Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt…

Shardak: A girl who created a Mythos? This is strange indeed…

(Liss walks through a village of wooden huts and dirty tents, attracting strange looks)

Female Voice: Come to me, come to me and we will destroy the Sphere!

(A bird-like monster wrecks a row of huts as it flies by at high speed)

Liss: Looks like it's time to start building my rep around here.

(In her Pentacles form Liss rides a clockwork horse into battle)

Narrator: Your fate is in your hands.

* * *

Here we see what appears to be the source of the Mythos monsters. What exactly is Lost, and who calls out to her? Someone pretty scary, it seems.

In this chapter I ruin one of my better earlier works for some people with the introduction of Sue, but one of the big problems I had with the original KR Tarock was it didn't have a good cast of characters. Hopefully I can improve on that this time around.

I'm sure we all know the tradition some rider shows have of basing their first two monsters on a spider and a bat. As you can see, I took it one step farther with Scorpio. He's based on the scorpion who killed Orion the hunter, hence Lost's announcement when he finishes forming. I promise I won't be copying Shocker from start to finish. Not sure how I could anyway with the two different themes.

Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6: Dark Wings

Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt – Reading Six: Dark Wings

Not that it needs to be said, but I don't own the Kamen Rider trademark. Just the characters and settings depicted in this work.

Disillusioned youth Liss Decker found herself suddenly caught between two supernatural combatants and took the powers of one for herself in the aftermath. Soon she learned of the Sphere, a tiered world that was home to the Arcana, powerful immortal beings, and whose inhabitants were beset by the Mythos, strange and hostile monstrous creatures. Seeing an escape from an oppressive everyday life, Liss agreed to become Tarock, a champion for the people of the Sphere. However, Liss then met a strange girl calling herself Lost who spawned a Mythos monster before disappearing. Restoring an old motorcycle she dubbed the Shift Runner, Liss traveled to the Sphere in pursuit of Lost…

* * *

Liss held on tight to what were no longer a set of handlebars but thick leather reins. They were attached to a bridle around the mouth of a horse covered in irregular, silvery metal plates with a bronze-colored mane of long wires. It looked sidelong over its shoulder at her, snorted a cloud of steam and looked forward again, scraping at the ground with a sharp metal hoof.

"Shift Runner?" she asked uncertainly. The horse gave a tinny, echoing whicker in recognition then turned to face forward again. "Which one's Shardak's hideout?" she asked. "I don't remember." It whickered again and trotted to the face of one hill and stopped. Liss climbed down and walked up to the side of the hill where a cave mouth opened out of nowhere for her.

"Hey Shardak!" she called inside. "You here?"

"Did it look as if I'm going anywhere?" the wizened voice from the day before answered.

"No, not really," Liss answered and finally allowed herself to relax. The green card ejected and her armor flickered away. "Is the sword card ready yet?"

"Right down to business, eh?" Shardak asked, the ghostly visage of his face forming in the center of the cave. The other card she'd had sat on the rocky pedestal, with most of the burn marks cleaned away. It had been damaged in her fight with Thena, who like Shardak was one of the Arcana, an immortal and powerful native of the Sphere. For reasons still unknown to Liss, Thena thought she was a threat despite having just taken care of one of the monsters supposedly ravaging the Sphere.

Shardak had been able to repair the damage Thena had done to the Fate Driver, but Liss had had to leave without another of its special cards, that gave her different powers and weapons, to let Shardak fix it too. In this strange place, she was trying to get all the advantages she could. And that included holding onto the support of the only person who it seemed could fix her gear, by keeping him in the loop.

"I'm not half of what I used to be, and this takes a lot out of me," Shardak sighed, obviously not happy to be reminded. "It's going to be a bit longer. I take it you were able to destroy that last Mythos?"

"Yeah," Liss replied. "It got even bigger after I beat it the first time. Do they usually do that?"

Shardak squinted. "No, they don't. Another reason to worry. Still, as long as you didn't have any trouble with it…surprising though, it was powerful enough for me detect all the way from here."

"Well, there was one thing. I came back trying to find the girl who made the monster-"

"The girl who made the monster?" Shardak interrupted. "What girl?!"

Liss took a step back out of reflex at Shardak's outburst. "A girl in a black robe. She said her name was Lost, and she was looking for someone who was calling to her. For a second she even thought it was me, and then she puked this black stuff into the sky and it rained and made a scorpion monster. Then after I killed him it stopped raining, but he got bigger and I had to kill him again…" Liss trailed off, it being obvious even to her how inane that was starting to sound, even with the doors that had been opened in her mind over the last few days.

"This is alarming, about Mythos being able to revive in more powerful shapes…but to identify a creator, that is welcome news. I wonder why she might've thought you were calling to her, though," Shardak mused.

"I keep having this cold feeling in my arm whenever I run into a monster. It started happening when I ran into that spider monster and some blood got on my hand." She thought better of mentioning she could tell if an Arcanum was close the same way. That seemed something to hold onto for the moment.

"Intriguing, a means to detect the presence of other Mythos. That should come in handy," Shardak said.

"Yeah, it's great. Any idea where Lost might be?"

"My abilities are only a shadow of what they once were," Shardak sighed. "Once, I could have found her easily. Now…"

"All right, all right," Liss said."But why are we so clueless about the Mythos if you guys fought them before? You must've had some idea where they came from if you beat them."

"We tracked them to their lair, but only Master Thyer, the first Tarock and the warriors they were able to gather went in, and only Tarock came out. He expired before he could tell anyone anything, and all that was ever found inside was Master Thyer's sword."

"Can you at least tell me where the other two cards are now?"

"I will tell you that the first is located in Avalon, the empire that controls most of the territory of the Sphere's bottom levels. The card of Cups is in the possession of a nobleman named Lyrin Doxo, a good friend of the emperor. If you explain your intentions to him, I'm sure he'll be willing to give to you."

_You mean your intentions,_ Liss thought. She hardly knew this world or its people, did he really expect her to immediately accept his take on the situation and do everything he said without question? As long he was the only one who could tell her where the rest of the cards were, though…

"Are you all right, Liss?" Shardak asked.

"I'm fine. This place, Avalon? Is it really far away?"

Shardak nodded. "It's almost at the bottom of the Sphere. Your mount should have little trouble getting you there, though."

"Okay. Am I gonna have to come all the way back for the sword card when it's ready?"

Shardak shook his head. "I'll ask Jack to bring it to you."

"And what about the last card?"

"That's for later," Shardak said firmly.

"Maybe that one would help more," Liss replied.

"Perhaps it would, but it's in a far more perilous location at present. If that changes, I will let you know at once," Shardak said, not budging.

Liss nodded, not wanting to say anything she'd regret, and knew that could probably take on a whole new dimension in a place like this. "Okay, one other thing before I go. Jack said I should find a way of my own back to the Sphere, so I used the Fate Driver on a motorcycle and it changed into like a super bike. But as soon as I got here it turned into a horse. Is it supposed to do that?"

Shardak knitted his brow. "It wouldn't surprise me."

"It wouldn't _surprise _you?" Liss blurted angrily. He was asking her to risk her life fighting monsters in a weird other world—even if it was better than the one she'd left—and he didn't know how the tools he was giving her worked? What kind of wizard was he?

The ghostly face sighed. "Liss, you need to understand I had grand plans for the Fate Driver, but little time to explore its full capabilities before I was reduced to this, and the first Tarock was more concerned with helping us wipe out the Mythos than experimenting with the intricacies of his abilities. Certainly not with finding out how Tarock's powers might be reflected differently in the world you come from.

"But," he added, "you're acquitting yourself well so far. I'm sure we'll learn much in the days to come."

"Speaking of the day, guess I better go save it," Liss said.

Shardak cleared his throat as she started back out of the cave. "Thank you for informing me of your find. This changes everything about the Mythos."

"Yeah…you're welcome."

* * *

All she could see were stars for what seemed like hours, but finally Sue was able to look up into a bright yellow sky…yellow sky?!

She sat up quickly in alarm, and wasn't reassured by what she saw then. She was sitting on a rough flagstone in the courtyard of a castle with a tower at each corner, and groups of people in dirty, tattered clothing shooting her cautious glances. Then four masked men in heavy Roman-looking armor pushed their way out of the crowds to surround her.

"Freeze, intruder!" he commanded, the tip of his trident giving a very unfriendly electrical crackle for emphasis.

"What's going on…?" Sue whimpered.

* * *

With her request to take them to Avalon, Shift Runner trotted along an empty field that stretched from horizon to horizon. Above Liss could make out large balls of light like suns that were probably the ones she'd seen hovering in the center of the Sphere during her approach. Looking the other way, though, the sky was the same pale yellow as on the other side, no glassy wall with empty space beyond. Maybe she wasn't close enough to the edge to see it anymore.

The wind picked up and blew straight down her right arm. Liss reined Shift Runner in and pulled her jacket over one shoulder to look at it, sighing in annoyance to see a bunch of the seams had ripped and a big hole was forming where the sleeve should've connected to the body.

The thought of going back and prepping for a trip occurred, but her wallet was nearly empty and that meant bumming from Paige or Kelly, probably the only people still talking to her. Would Shardak know if she left for a while to get some stuff and come back, and know she hadn't planned ahead? Would he think twice about letting her keep Tarock's powers?

He was nothing but a cloudy face now, but he still had some power. What if that included the power to take back the Fate Driver if she didn't live up to his expectations? Had ideas of her own about how to do the job?

No, she wasn't going to stand for that. He wouldn't need her if he could do anything about the Mythos himself. She'd play nice for now, but Liss Decker wasn't anybody's puppet.

Besides, she was tough. She was adaptable. She'd figure out her food situation.

Another few minutes of riding brought Liss a sore behind from the bouncing and an angled spike of crystal piercing the ground and extending into the sky, presumably disappearing into the level above.

"So…what now?" Liss asked, as if expecting the horse to answer her. It whickered and walked up to the crystal and the Fate Driver tingled. There was a feeling of pulling, and her vision turned completely blue and she was aware of nothing but speed even though she couldn't feel anything happening around her. Then just as suddenly she and Shift Runner were at the foot of the crystal pillar, but maybe a mile away she could see a cluster of ragged tents with people milling around.

"Well, that's faster'n the subway, I guess," Liss said. Shift Runner gave its tinny whicker in reply and started toward the tents.

As they got closer the people at the edges of the small camp stopped and stared at Liss and her metal mount. Two of them unshouldered crossbows, but with her giving no signs of hostility didn't take aim just yet. Once she was near the edge of the little camp Liss could see a pair of stone huts peeking out just above the tops of the tents.

"What have we here?" asked a bald man in a robe that might have been white once, but was caked with dirt and a few especially dark blotches that looked like they might have been blood.

"Toles, we have to keep moving!" another man, his face and arms thin and frail-looking, said with urgency as he emerged from the camp behind the first. "The attacks aren't going to stop until there's no-one left to attack! Better we move now while it's light and we can see a threat coming!" He paused at the sight of the girl on her metal horse. "And who, pardon my audacity, might you be?"

"Li-" she began, then stopped. As unsure as she might have been about the Sphere and Shardak's agenda yet, she was supposed to be making a name for herself. Why not use the one they already knew? "I'm Tarock."

"Hear that, Cherma?" Toles said. "Tarock's come to aid us!"

"Not exactly," Liss explained. "I'm supposed to go someplace called Avalon."

"Someplace called Avalon?" Cherma asked, eying her suspiciously. "Who doesn't know what Avalon is?"

They were interrupted as the piercing cry of a bird cut the air.

No. _Two _piercing cries at the same time.

Liss looked up and saw something in the sky flying toward them and flying low. The unmistakable chill ran up Liss's arm, and she locked the Fate Driver into place almost automatically. "Transform!"

"Pentacles Suit!"

Shift Runner reared up on its hind legs as Liss…no, she had to start thinking of herself as Tarock, was clad in her thick green armor once again. Most of the people had ducked into their tents for what little protection that would give them as the Mythos attacked, but some peeked back out at the Fate Driver's announcement.

"See, my friends!" Toles yelled, grinning. "Shardak's champion has come to save us!"

Well, that wasn't the response Shardak had warned her about…

"Let's go!" Tarock said and wheeled Shift Runner around to gallop straight at the Mythos. Tarock rose herself up to crouch in the saddle, and when the Mythos was overhead she jumped, grabbed it by the leg and was carried into the air.

The Mythos looked down at her and continued to look straight ahead as it did. It was a cross between a person and a bird, with a coat of dark grey feathers and wings extending out from its arms and leathery talons instead of feet, but with two mottled vulture-like heads sprouting from its shoulders.

Tarock passed her hand in front of her belt and clenched the haft of the Gran Crusher. She swung at the Mythos but it descended suddenly and her boots were brushing against the bumpy ground, throwing off her attack. It flew lower until it was hardly two feet off the ground and dragging Tarock along the ground behind it, shaking and bumping her on the ground until she finally let go of its foot and came to a rolling stop as the Mythos flew on.

Armor smeared with dirt, Tarock got back up. The Mythos swooped around for another pass. Tarock grabbed the bladed bracelet off her belt and scraped it against the ground. "Pent Defender!" she commanded and a shield of rock collected around it. As the Mythos closed in it opened its left beak and a barrage of light balls shot out, peppering Tarock but she caught the worst of it on her shield with just a few scorches on her legs.

_This isn't going to work_, she thought. The Mythos was too mobile for the only powers she had available. There was only one chance.

The Mythos turned around to strafe Tarock again. As it neared, opening its beak and starting to spew its light balls again she yelled "Earth Fist!" and stomped her foot. A boulder erupted from the ground and she smashed it at the Mythos with her hammer.

The monster screeched in surprise with one head and turned its other to try to blast Tarock's boulder, but it was too close and the rock shattered against its chest and sent it into a crazed spiral as it shot past her. It kept going until it was out of sight, and Tarock sighed and let the Pentacles card eject from her belt and turn her back into plain old Liss.

"I don't believe it," breathed Toles.

"You really fended off the Roc," Cherma laughed a bewildered laugh as he if he couldn't believe it.

"Rock?"

"Roc. The Mythos you just fought," Cherma explained. "It's been toying with us for a week. It'd always attack, destroy our camp and kill a person or two…this is the first time it's left without casualties."

"Tarock," Toles said. "I beg of you, journey with us to Avalon. You did a splendid job but I doubt we've seen the last of that creature."

Liss's stomach growled just then. "Is dinner included?" she asked.

* * *

Darkness settled in soon, and talk of moving on as soon as possible was put aside with the Mythos having actually been fought off.

Dinner was prepared and Liss was given a plate with a steaming slab of meat and a pair of vegetables that had a purple skin but turned out to taste like baked potatoes. As warm as Toles had been, though, the other people in the camp looked at Liss cautiously as she got near and said nothing to her. She went over to eat by herself near where Shift Runner stood, seemingly keeping watch for the monster's return.

"Give me a yell if you see anything, okay boy?" she said, and Shift Runner snorted.

She dug into dinner, thinking about what kind of city Avalon might be like. If it was a modern metropolis with skyscrapers with hundreds of windows and antennae on the top, or castles and walls and straw huts.

And if it was one of the two big civilized spots around the Sphere, there'd probably be a couple of the Arcana there. Shardak seemed pretty sure she'd get a warmer welcome than she had from Thena, but she'd believe it when she saw it.

Half of the meat was gone before Liss saw anyone venture outside the edges of the camp. Three laughing kids started running around in the fading light. One boy held his arms out to his sides and ran into another, knocking him down. The third, a girl who looked a little older than the others, lifted her hands over her head as if holding the haft of a weapon. She locked eyes with Liss for a second, and Liss looked away. It looked like it was going to be a cold night, and she had enough on her mind already

* * *

A rough hand shook Liss awake.

"Go away, Paige," she mumbled.

Again her shoulder was shaken roughly. "Toles and Cherma want you to arbitrate," a man grunted.

"Arbitrate…?" Liss grumbled and looked at the burly man above her with bleary eyes.

"To settle their argument!" he snapped, then stomped away. Her eyes still bleary, Liss got up and stumbled off toward the center of the camp where she could hear a heated argument taking place. Standing around a table were Toles, Cherna and a group of other people. Toles stabbed at a map with his finger.

"I'm telling you, _this _is the way!" Toles said.

"Well, perhaps our champion can help us to decide on a course of action," Cherma said, looking straight at Liss, and right after he did so did the rest of the group.

"And what decision's that?" she asked as she walked to the table, the group hastily parting in front of her.

Toles glared at Cherma before he answered. He pointed toward a thick forest on the map, beyond which was a drawing of a city. "I say we should pass through the forest on the way to Avalon. That damned bird won't be able to attack us with all that cover."

"_And_ it'll take at least another day for us to reach Avalon if we have to make our way through all those trees," Cherma added. "And Mythos are everywhere. Who's to say there any's any number of them hiding in there?" He pointed instead to a picture of a valley with hills on one side and a row of mountains on the other. "If we go this way we'll be at the gates of Avalon by nightfall."

"And easy targets for the Roc," Toles said.

"Are you forgetting so quickly what she accomplished yesterday?" Cherma asked accusingly, and pointed at Liss. "Did she not rid us of the Roc yesterday? Do you doubt she could manage it twice, Toles?"

Toles sighed and looked over at her. "Well, do you have any thoughts, Tarock?"

"Um," was all Liss could think to say. Why was she choking up? She'd thought about the strategic value of the terrain plenty of times for eluding people. The only one who'd ever given her trouble was that reporter lady, but Sue chased down people for a living.

No, she was used to using the terrain to her advantage when she didn't have to think of anyone but herself. Having to think of how her choice would affect a group of people was a first.

As she looked over the map, Cherma's warnings struck a chord. In a dark, crowded forest, she didn't like the idea of Mythos having lots of places to hide, and all the trees around that could become hazards for the group she was supposed to watch out for when super-powered attacks started flying. Not a good way to start building a reputation.

The valley route would leave them open but not for as long if Cherma was right, and the Roc wouldn't be able to sneak up on them. Besides, she had already fought it off, hadn't she?

"We should take the route through the forest!" Toles insisted. "That valley is too much open ground, making us too easy a target for something we know is after us!"

"And those trees could be hiding anything!" Cherma retorted.

"Why don't I go scout ahead and see if maybe there is something in the forest?" Liss interrupted. "Be ready to leave when I get back." She ran back to Shift Runner before they could say anything and rode off toward the ribbon of dark green in the distance.

The forest was a wide green wall stretching nearly out of sight in either direction. It was a somewhat strange sight to Liss, who'd never gotten to leave the dingy city where she'd been before coming to the Sphere. The trees were packed pretty close with no trail Liss could make out, but enough that people could make their way through. There wouldn't be much room to fight if they were attacked, though, even if she was sure Tarock had the strength to fell trees.

But as Shift Runner made it to the edge of the trees the cold feeling that warned of the presence of the Mythos went right up Liss's arm and across her shoulders, lingering rather than fading once she'd noticed it.

Something was hiding in there. Something powerful, and something she probably wouldn't to run into with a lot of people around getting in the way. And definitely not something she wanted sneaking up on her in a dark, claustrophobic forest…

She turned Shift Runner around and started back. Looked it was going to be the quick way after all.

* * *

Somehow, the Sphere seemed to be getting even colder as Liss led the small caravan of refugees into the valley atop Shift Runner. Or maybe she'd just popped another few seams on her jacket. Wasn't sure why she still had it, Ben Corland had gotten it for her. Kind of surprising he hadn't brought that up the last time she'd seen him…

A group of children, the ones Liss had seen the night before among them, ran out in front of the procession, chasing each other and laughing. The girl from the previous night ran up beside her and asked, "Will you slay the beast today, Tarock?"

"If it shows up, that's the plan," Liss answered.

"Get back here, you two!" a woman called from somewhere behind. "If the Mythos does attack the last place she's going to want you is right in front of her!"

The children ran back to the caravan, smiling and laughing. The girl who'd talked to Liss looked up at her for another moment with a dazzling smile before running to catch up with the others.

Nothing happened as the day wore on and the sky darkened even as the strange points of light in the sky continued their slow orbit. Liss didn't like it. She was used to being the one sneaking around looking to get one over on someone. What the hell, though. It'd help her to learn what it was like so she could improve her technique when she was the one sneaking around again.

They'd gone around a bend and could just see points of light in the far distance. Most floated in air, beacons on watchtowers or in windows. "I think I see it!" Liss called back to the rest of the caravan. The people started to murmur and chatter amongst themselves, tiredly but with relief from what Liss could hear from so far out in front.

Then a chill raced up her arm.

She'd just slapped the Fate Driver into place when the rush of wind hit, ripping her from Shift Runner's saddle. Liss curled her legs against her chest in a hurry to keep her robo-horse from landing on them as it fell over. The members of the procession screamed as some were thrown against the rocks at the slope of the valley and the others knocked to the ground.

"Transform!"

"Pentacles Suit!"

Even in the fading light the dark shape of the Roc Mythos closing in for another pass. What options did she really have? It'd probably be watching for her Earth Fist again, and she wasn't sure she could get high enough to hit it otherwise even with as low as it was coming in for its attack. Already the wind was picking up again as it neared, and it seemed there was no choice.

Tarock crouched and jumped as high as she could just before another blast of wind ripped down the valley from the Roc's powerful wings. It got closer and closer as she reached the top of her jump and cocked back an arm for the split-second she'd have before it plowed into her. The beady eyes in both heads fixed on her, and then the Roc opened its right beak and a ray of light shot out and blasted Tarock hard in the chest. She tumbled from the air and blasted dirt for eight feet in every direction as her impact displaced the ground.

Legs shaking, Tarock got up to see the Roc flying low and strafing the refugees. Energy balls and light rays blasted from both mouths, sending the people flying while screams of panic filled the valley. One unlucky victim landed a few feet away from Tarock, and she froze as she recognized the emaciated features of Cherma. He twitched and contorted, then his skin suddenly turned chalk white and his face became a blank mask.

He was one of those things from school…

There was no time to dwell on it. Tarock grasped the Gran Crusher and stomped her foot as the Roc came her way again. "Earth First!" The boulder jumped from the ground and she swatted it at the Roc, who banked easily around it and spat another light ray at her. She yelled as she could feel the heat singe the back of her suit and dove out of the way of the worst of the blast.

Toles ran up with an empty crossbow in one hand and knelt by the faceless body. "Cherma, what's the thing done to him?!"

"Cherma's probably dead," Tarock said, softer than she'd meant to.

"What do you mean?" Toles demanded.

"That thing…it's a Mythos too. It's a lot weaker than the other ones but a few of them were working with this other monster. It killed someone and copied him to try to take me by surprise."

"Why would it kill-" Toles began to say but was interrupted by a piercing shriek from Roc. Energy blazing from both mouths it came straight at them. Tarock shoved Toles out of the way and braced herself for the pummeling about to come. Suddenly a huge shadowy shape lunged in front of her and the Roc's bombardment didn't touch her as the monster flew by.

"Shift Runner?" A hollow whinny was her answer. "I got a plan…it's not a great plan, but we're running out people to save. If we could just-" She didn't even get to finish before Shift Runner galloped up the incline of the valley. It looked like it was running off, then the horse stopped and crouched behind a pile of rocks.

Again the wind picked up as the Roc flew down the valley. "Earth Fist!" Tarock yelled and batted a boulder at it. The Rock banked and the rock went flying past, but still Tarock yelled again, "Earth Fist!" and sent another stone projectile at her relentless enemy. The Roc turned both heads at it and blew the boulder apart with its beam before taking aim at Tarock.

Just before it opened fire Shift Runner stood up and launched itself at the Mythos, knocking it out of the air and tackling it into the opposite wall of the valley. Shift Runner battered the Mythos with its hooves. The Mythos opened its left beak and with an angered screech started bombarding Shift Runner with its light globes.

She only had a second, and jumped as high as she could, somersaulted once at the peak of her jump because she could, and gathered all of her strength. "Earth-" she said as the ground came roaring up at her. "—NEEDLE!" Long rocky spikes erupted from the wall behind the Mythos, piercing it repeatedly. It twitched and cawed fiercely, then fell limp.

Tarock watched anxiously, waiting for it to be reborn as a gigantic ungodly thunderbird or some such thing, but the Rock's remains turned into a blue-green mist that dispersed a second later. She sighed in relief and slumped back against Shift Runner, who turned to look at her for a minute and then flicked its bristly tail.

"Cherma…" Toles moaned, looking down at the inhuman creature he'd thought was his friend.

* * *

Thirteen were dead by the time everyone was accounted for, and not counting Cherma. With her power over earth Tarock cleared dirt for graves, and a simple funeral ceremony began.

After they'd been laid to rest Liss was catching her breath against Shift Runner before they moved, and shivering when the girl who'd talked to her before the attack came over with what looked like a blanket slung over one shoulder.

"I thought we were gonna keep going to the city after the funeral," Liss said.

The girl smile and unrolled the blanket, and Liss could see it was actually about a long black overcoat. In the pocket were a pair of matching gloves. "Papa saw your coat was torn, so he asked me to give you this."

"Um, thanks kid," Liss said and tried it on. The coat actually fit well and hung to just behind her knees. Nice and thick, made of something that felt a lot like leather but she didn't say anything about something from a world she was only beginning to understand.

"Thank you, Tarock." And she ran to rejoin her family to get ready for the last leg of the trip.

With the adrenaline wearing off Liss looked over at the man saying last rites for the Roc's victims. Would they be burying more or less if she'd decided to take them through the forest after all? Would whatever had been waiting there been something she was better suited to handle with this set of powers? Did she choose to go the other way because she was looking out for them, or because she'd been afraid of facing whatever she'd sensed…?

And then she glanced over at the forgotten corpse of the imposter Cherma. This was the second time she'd run into them and hadn't gotten even a touch of cold from being near them. They could be anywhere, and she was in a strange and unfamiliar place already. Who needed all the power bigger Mythos had when one of them could even sneak up on her and slit her throat?

But then Liss clenched her fists. She hadn't pussed out of anything in years. She'd have to be smart, she'd have to keep her cool, but she'd find a way through this.

No matter what.

* * *

Far, far on the other edge of the Sphere, Tarock's recent efforts had not gone unnoticed.

"It seems the assassin would forge an alliance with the enemy…"

"Solymen is weak, but any alliance makes her more of a threat."

"Something must be done, my love. And soon, before she can become any more dangerous."

"Of course, but what? Risking your life isn't worth any reward, my dearest."

"I've been thinking on that, and if Shardak can empower an envoy, can't we?"

* * *

Next time on Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt…

(Liss meets with a heavyset nobleman)

Lyrin Doxo: This card is the greatest treasure of my people.

(A tree-like monster devastates buildings with whipping roots and branches)

Liss: I need it to stop what's happening to this world.

(Two armored figures, black and white, stand side by side)

Male and Female Voices in Unison: The Sphere doesn't need a savior like you.

(Tarock stands in a lightly-armored yellow form)

Liss: Then come get me.

Narrator: Your fate is in your hands.


	7. Chapter 7: No Safe Path

Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt – Reading Seven: No Safe Path

Not that it needs to be said, but I don't own the Kamen Rider trademark. Just the characters and settings depicted in this work.

Disillusioned youth Liss Decker found herself suddenly caught between two supernatural combatants and took the powers of one for herself in the aftermath. Soon she learned of the Sphere, a tiered world that was home to the Arcana, powerful immortal beings, and whose inhabitants were beset by the Mythos, strange and hostile monstrous creatures. Seeing an escape from an oppressive everyday life, Liss agreed to become Tarock, a champion for the people of the Sphere. However, Liss then met a strange girl calling herself Lost who spawned a Mythos monster and claimed to hear someone calling to her.

Liss followed, but Lost's trail eluded her. She then guided a group of refugees to the capital city of the empire of Avalon, being told that her next card, and the next step in her evolution it represents, lies there…

* * *

"Let go of me!" Nema screamed and pulled free of her husband's grasp. She tried to sprint away but slipped on the wet street and landed in a heap. She scrambled to get up and escape, but already he was upon her again.

"Just listen to me for a second, Nema!" her husband cried, but this time with anxiety rather than rage. He grabbed her wrists even as she struggled. "I'm sorry! I've talked to my brother, and I believe you weren't having an affair with him."

"It's too later, Lurian," Nema said darkly. "I'm not letting you accuse me of things I haven't done ever again." She yanked her arms free and started to stalk off when all of a sudden light flared in front of her. Two shapes formed out of it, a pair of faces. Lurian ran to his wife's side and rested his hands protectively on her shoulders. This time, she didn't pull away.

"Sundered lovers, is there anything more tragic?" one asked.

"But perhaps reparations can be made and the Sphere even saved if you are willing…" said the other.

XXX

Liss gave her worn out old jacket to one of the refugees who wanted to cut it up for patch material or something. Fine with her, it was another reminder of a past she didn't mind discarding. Although after getting this next card, she'd probably want to think about going back and getting some clean clothes. She'd left awfully suddenly.

The new long coat and gloves she'd been given as a reward for guiding these people to the capital city was nice and warm, though, and Liss was enjoying thinking she looked pretty badass in them.

After a few more minutes of preparation she mounted Shift Runner, her metallic horse, who'd originally been a motorcycle, and started for the lights of the city in the distance. Slowly high stone walls came into view, and in the light of beacons atop the walls the outlines of tall watchtowers. As they neared an archway with a heavy portcullis, a group of people in thick plate armor and carrying three-pointed spears with glowing barbs approached them out of the darkness.

"An armed escort?" someone behind asked in surprise.

"Yes," one of the soldiers answered. "For _her_. Come with us, Tarock. The emperor demands an audience."

"And what makes you think I'm Tarock?"

"We have our ways," the guard replied, and Liss honestly didn't know if she'd expected more. "Come with us," he instructed. The portcullis raised and Liss and her charges passed through, but as soon as they were inside the walls the portcullis dropped with a crash again, and a completely unfazed guard waved the refugees who'd been following Liss off with his weapon. On the inside of the gate Liss noticed a humming arrangement of multi-colored crystals embedded in the ceiling.

"What's that?" she asked.

"To reveal the Mythos who can disguise themselves," one of the guards grunted, and waved her on.

They proceeded into a huge open yard, and filled with scattered collections of tents with weary-looking people occupying themselves with preparing the evening meal for their family, turning meat on a spit or stewing stew in a thick iron pot. Some watched their children play in the fading light. Past them she could barely see rough rows of huts in the fading light. Liss suddenly pulled Shift Runner to a halt when she saw one of the guards pointing his trident at her face.

"Surrender your weapons," he guard ordered. Liss took out the Fate Driver, then suddenly locked it around her waist and grabbed the card from the pouch on her belt.

"Transform!"

"Pentacles Suit!"

The guards pressed in but Liss's armor had already solidified and her warhammer was in hand. "I've got a better idea," she said warningly. "You guys put those away before somebody gets hurt."

"Who do you think-"

"_I_ think she's a guest," said a calm but powerful voice. Tarock looked down to see a man with a thin white beard in a rich purple robe, who she could see right through. Liss grimaced and almost fell off her horse from the feeling of cold that shot up her arm and swallowed her entire body. It wasn't as sharp as what she'd felt from Lost, but there was no doubt in her mind she was in the presence of a very powerful Arcanum.

"And I'm sure you can agree there's a certain wisdom to hanging on to what protection one can find in times as troubled as these," he added.

The guards immediately fell to their knees. "Sire, we were only thinking of your safety!" one cried.

"And you are to be commended for it, but I am not helpless, as you know," he said and turned to Tarock. "Pardon my followers, but times are trying. But I am being a poor host. Come." He clapped his hands and Tarock had to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness. She was still on Shift Runner's back, but they were in a wide room with a red carpet leading up to an ornate wooden throne with large and colorful gems worked into it, and her host was no longer transparent. He walked to the throne, and with a sigh picked up a golden crown with intricate leaf-like patterns and placed it on his head.

"Now then, what brings you to the home of Solymen, mighty Tarock?" he asked. Despite the power she'd felt just from his projection, between the softness of his voice and the dark circles under his eyes he seemed tired.

Tarock got down from Shift Runner, and let her weapon fade away but didn't let herself relax. "The first time I met one of you, they tried to kill me. Hope you'll understand if I'm a little careful."

"And I hope you'll understand that we have our reasons for being wary of Shardak's envoy. He was always secretive even at the best of times, and your original predecessor was responsible for the death of one of my kind," Emperor Solymen replied. "But you haven't answered my question."

Tarock sighed quietly in irritation. She wasn't used to playing along with people in authority. But since he already knew she was there he'd probably be keeping an eye on her. "I'm here because I'm told another of the cards I need is somewhere in this city. The cup card. Someone named Doxo has it."

"Doxo?" Solymen said, a distant look settling in his eyes for a second. "Does he really? And what use would you have for it, were he to hand it over to you?"

"You guys need all the help you can get killing those monsters. I'm the only one who can use that card, so it's going completely to waste as long as somebody else has it."

Solymen smiled wryly at her response. "I suppose it is, at that. Perhaps we can see about negotiating with Doxo in the morning. In the meantime, though, maybe there's something you can do to help the empire."

"What?" Tarock asked exasperatedly, tired from being in the saddle all day and then barely defeating a monster, and more than half expecting to be asked to run off on some stupid quest before anyone would even consider a request from her. Was Shardak's reputation really that bad?

"A strange woman appeared from nowhere at one of my outposts yesterday," Solymen said. "Says her name's something like Soo-zonn. She claims to be looking for another female outsider, something she calls a 'super hero.' When she mentioned it being someone with armor of different colors and abilities to go with them, I thought she probably meant Tarock."

Tarock sighed. "Yeah, I think I know her. I'll take her back as soon as I have the card."

"We'll discuss that with Doxo first thing in the morning," Solymen said with finality. Tarock felt a tremor in the air and a few seconds later the doors to the throne room opened and a young man wearing yellow and green entered. "Bring her to our other guest, and bring them anything they need."

Tarock looked back at Shift Runner. "What about him? I'm not just gonna-" she began, but before she could finish Shift Runner's body flared with light and when it cleared a silver medallion with the image of a horse on it hung in the air for the second it took her grab it. "Uh…never mind."

Once they were gone Solymen waved his hands again and the doors closed by themselves. He removed his crown and set it by the throne again, sighing a little in relief. There was another strange tremor in the air just before he could hear a voice in his mind.

"_Master, is it wise to be so welcoming?_"

"I am not your master, Sentos. And to be cordial to a potential ally?" Solymen replied calmly.

"_To be cordial to Shardak's agent_," the other voice corrected.

Solymen laughed softly. "Would she have come here so brazenly if she meant to kill us? At the head of a column of people hailing her as their savior? Which you surely know of better than I."

"_I am merely being cautious_."

"I know, old friend," Solymen said. "But perhaps it's time we held out a hand instead of a fist."

* * *

The servant opened the door and ushered Liss into a small two-person bedroom. Sitting on one of them, looking around nervously, was Sue Gand. "Back again, huh?" she groaned, but as Liss met her eyes she smiled with relief. "Thank god, finally it's the right one!"

Liss looked over at her escort. " 'The right one'?"

He shrugged. "She said was looking for a girl called Liss. We brought every one we could find, but then she said she meant one from the same world as herself."

"So what've you been doing?" Sue asked excitedly. "You kill anymore monsters since the big scorpion back on Earth? Got any other powers besides the green and the red ones? When did you get those, anyway?"

"I got a question for you! Why'd you follow me to God knows where?! Had to get your big story, huh?" Liss sighed and the servant hurried out of the room with his duty done. "I'm not answering any frigging questions tonight. It's late, and I'm exhausted," Liss said and climbed into the other bed after hanging up her new coat.

"How can you sleep at a time like this? We're in a whole different world!" Sue gushed. "There's all kinds of things out there nobody from Earth's ever seen!"

"BS," Liss groaned. "Tarot cards are based on the guys who run this place. People came here. Now be quiet."

"Investigate tarot," Sue said as she wrote herself a reminder on her phone. "How many of these guys have you met? Did they say which of the cards they're supposed to be?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Liss snapped.

"Yeah, and didn't you hear me? This is a world nobody's ever seen…that anyone else knows about anymore," Sue corrected herself. "And you're the person they picked to be their hero! You're not excited about that?"

"I was watching out for a giant bird to attack all day long, and then got smashed around by it two freaking hours ago," Liss said. "And I've got a big day tomorrow, so I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight."

"Big day, huh?" Sue said. "Sounds like it'll make a hell of a story."

Liss grunted in annoyance.

* * *

Breakfast the next morning consisted of eggs, some kind of vegetable omelet and hot tea. The emperor had them join him in a dining room big enough to seat at least another twelve people beyond the three of them, but all he asked the two strangers in his empire were small things like how they'd slept and if the food was to their taste. Sue peppered Liss with questions about her exploits since being separated after Sue tried to follow her when she rode through the rift that led to the Sphere. Liss didn't answer most of them, her mind clearly elsewhere with the way she constantly glanced around the room, at the windows and at Solymen as she chewed her food. Eventually Sue gave up in frustration, and silence prevailed until their plates were cleared.

A sharp, slightly lingering chill condensed around Liss's shoulder as the doors opened up and a man in a red hooded robe, carrying a white staff entered. There was no doubt in her mind he was another powerful Arcanum, although probably not as much as the emperor. "You have a task for me, sire?" he asked.

"Indeed, Phebos," Solymen said. "It's been brought to my attention that one of the cards that empowers Tarock has been right here in Avalon for quite some time. I'd like to request that you accompany our guests to the Doxo estate and see if you can help them persuade him to part with it."

Phebos looked over at Liss and Sue, back at the emperor for a few seconds and then nodded once. "All right, if you would please follow me," Phebos said, leading the way out of the room. As they followed him out of the palace, Liss thought he seemed to drift along the ground instead of walk. His robes didn't even sway as he moved.

Outside the palace was a village of stone houses where people were beginning their days, and guards in heavy armor with nasty-looking tridents patrolled the streets in pairs. Over the tops of the houses they could see slate-roofed manors and a high white watchtower near the outer wall. And as they went Sue was snapping pictures of everything with her phone. She'd probably been saving the battery for when they let her out.

"Care for the sights, miss?" Phebos asked, and it took Liss a second to realize he was asking her and not Sue. "You should see Avalon when we're not expecting the sky to drop at any minute."

"That's kinda why I'm here, isn't it?" she said. "So it doesn't."

"Is it?" he asked cryptically.

"Yeah, it is."

Phebos nodded at that but said nothing else as he weaved through the early morning crush, drawing stares from the people they passed. After another ten minutes they were outside one of the manor houses, and Phebos rapped on the door a few times with his staff. A young serving girl opened the door and gasped as she recognized the man at the door. "Tell your master I come on behalf of the emperor. It regards the Card of Cups."

They were ushered into a large waiting room with a freshly polished wooden table taking up the middle. Expensive-looking vases on stands in the corners. Except for one, which housed an intricately-carved statue of a woman wearing a crown and a flowing dress. She was beautiful, but her mouth was downturned slightly in an expression of what seemed to Liss like repressed anger. Sue snapped pictures of all of it, and studied the statue for a long while. "Who's this?" she finally asked.

"Someone who doesn't approve of the way we do things here in Avalon," Phebos said simply. "And who, I imagine, would think even less so if she were to hear about this visit."

"Someone from Mazones?" Liss asked.

"How did you guess?"

"Someone from Mazones tried to kill me a little while ago," Liss said.

"Thena?"

Liss raised an eyebrow. "You met her, huh?"

Phebos's shoulders slumped slightly and he frowned. "You should understand she was not always as she is now. It shook all of us when the first Tarock killed one of our number, but the ruler of Mazones was hit especially hard. Thena always admired her."

"Here they are, master," the servant said as she appeared in the doorway. Behind her walked a stout bald man in black pants, sandals and a red satin jacket.

"Hello, my illustrious guests. Lyrin Doxo, at your service, and I understand you're interested in my collection," he said in a deep bass voice. He looked them over and seemed to zero in on Liss, and she could read the veiled suspicion in his eyes.

"What exactly do you collect?" Sue asked, smiling pleasantly and plainly in her element again.

"Treasures from our peoples' past. Why don't you come with me and see?" Doxo asked, shooting a sideways glance at Phebos before flicking his gaze at Liss. It was a silent question she'd seen before, one to keep an eye on her. Apparently word of her stunt with the guards the night before had already gotten around. Phebos nodded, and Doxo led the way down a long hall to a wide room. He pressed a small panel in one wall indistinguishable from the rest and a secret door opened.

Inside it was like a museum. There were pedestals holding up swords as well spears like the ones the guards used but less intricate. Mannequins displayed parts of old suits of armor while one was covered by an intricately-woven robe of green and yellow silk. Paintings of battles of men against monsters hung on the walls, and Liss didn't have to guess they were probably inspired by actual events. Sue continued to snap pictures, and Doxo grimaced as he failed to understand what she was doing.

In the center of the room in a transparent cylinder was a yellow card with a golden border and image of a chalice in the middle. Liss walked over to it, and Phebos stood by her shoulder.

"There it is, all that remains of my people's greatest treasure," Doxo said.

"Shouldn't you have told your ruler you have that?" Sue asked, a little bluntly. Doxo blanched, but Phebos stepped in quickly.

"The emperor agrees matters would be better served if the card be given to the new Tarock and its powers put to use fighting the Mythos," Phebos said.

"Is that an imperial decree?" Doxo said and made no attempt to hide his scowl.

"It is a request. Backed by fact," Phebos said.

"Then answer me something, Tarock," he said and pointed at Liss accusingly with a thick finger. "Did Shardak entrust that device of his to you?"

"Not exactly, but I'm here to get the card because he told me this is where it is and wants me to help fight the Mythos with it."

"It's one of the most precious artifacts of my people's history," Doxo said, unmoved.

"Which I'd love to hear more about sometime, but-" Sue began.

"—but don't you have a future to think about too?" Liss said. "Aren't the Mythos everywhere? Don't you guys need everything you've got out there fighting?"

Doxo scowled even harder. "Shardak's agent killed one of the Arcana, one of our protectors."

"And why was that?" Phebos said gently.

"To protect his own interests!" Doxo shouted, unable to contain himself.

"And what interests are those?" Phebos asked, still unfazed. Doxo started to make an angry retort but all of a sudden Liss couldn't seem to hear. She felt cold up her arm and across her shoulders, and clenched her teeth. It was nowhere near as intense as before when she'd run into Lost, but something powerful was near and she doubted it was friendly…

Doxo had just finished a rant and looked at Phebos, awaiting a reply, but none came. Instead, Phebos said, "Something's approaching from the forest, and quickly." The house suddenly shook and stone dust fell from the ceiling.

"What's happening?" Doxo asked, his anger abruptly forgotten.

"Something's at the walls," Phebos replied with terrifying calmness. Then the house trembled again, and the far wall of the room collapsed as a huge mottled brown tendril smashed its way through, knocking paintings flying and toppling pedestals.

"Pentacles Suit!" As soon as the thick green armor had formed around her Tarock was slamming her warhammer into the tendril or whatever it was until it recoiled out of the house. She charged out after it, and froze even though she wasn't surprised at all by what she saw. The thing she'd hit ran all the way from the back of Doxo's house to the city wall, two more houses were already half-demolished by it. From there it draped over the twenty-foot-high wall, over which its owner loomed at least twice as high: a monster with tree bark for skin but the shape of a woman with long arms, flowing hair of leaves and dark black orbs for eyes. Curved, horn-like branches emerged from her forehead and framed the growth falling from the back of her head. She had no legs, only a mass of roots writhing out from the bottom of her body.

The monster looked straight at Tarock and smiled for a second before the giant root whipped at her again. Tarock swung the Gran Crusher at it with all of her form's strength, but it she started to skid back before there was a flash of power and the root was sent flying back. Tarock smiled a little as she panted behind her mask from the exertion, then suddenly saw another root falling toward her. She somersaulted backward and the root missed by a foot. As soon as she was on her feet again, Tarock ran toward the giant tree-monster.

Sue stood in the new hole in the wall and gaped at what she was seeing, and taking a picture of the spectacle out of reflex. "That kid's got some stones, but she's gonna get herself killed!"

"A Dryad...If she tries to fight it alone, with the weapons she has, yes," Phebos affirmed.

"Aren't you gonna help?!"

"Battle is not my path," Phebos said, then raised his staff over his head. "But we are not without options. Sentos, awaken! Defend our people!"

"_I hear,_" a booming voice Sue could only hear in her head said, and again the ground shook horribly, but out of the corner of one eye Sue noticed movement and turned to see the white watchtower sharking. Arms sprouted from its sides and its base split into two thick legs. A flat face formed out of the front, with crenulated ridges along the forehead and shoulders. But a score of dents and craters marked the tower-creature's chest and sides as if from old battles.

Sentos strode toward where the Dryad stood, carefully stepping over houses and streets still clogged with panicked people. Tarock leaped to the outer wall and looked over her shoulder at the city's defender, and past him saw five other houses that had been smashed by the monster's roots. Over them she could see a cluster of collapsed tents too, and make out the dirt-smudged face of Toles, the leader of the refugees she'd led to this city so they'd be safe from the Mythos. He was tending to someone lying on the ground, and someone brought over something in a bowl. It was the girl who'd given Tarock that new coat, the girl whose name she didn't even know. Tarock's fingers tightened around the haft of her hammer, then she turned and back-flipped over the wall and charged her gigantic enemy.

The stone giant stopped near the edge of the wall, just before a ray of red light ripped from the direction of the palace and rammed into the Dryad's chest. It forced her back foot by foot until her roots couldn't touch the city anymore. Then Sentos took a flying leap and tackled the Dryad with a crash that knocked Sue off her feet too. As soon as the giants were out of range a dome of red light formed over Avalon.

"And now," said Phebos, was still on his feet, "it's up to the two of them."

Tarock jumped and landed on Dryad's wrist then smashed the Gran Crusher down. Drayd seemed not to even notice, and send Tarock falling with a flick of her wrist. Sentos swung a fist that jerked her head to one side, but the leafy vines that made up her hair stretched out and wrapped around the giant, then flung him away. Tarock launched a boulder at one of Dryad's glassy black eyes, hoping to blind the giant monster, but it shattered without even getting the Dryad to blink. A giant root fell toward Tarock, and she brought back her hammer.

"Grand Impact!" she cried as she channeled all of her strength into her swing. The head bit into the wood and for a second nothing seemed to happen, then the root cracked and snapped off from the rest of the Dryad.

Dryad looked down at her, then leaves as long as cars were whipping from her hair and through the air at Tarock. She turned and took a running jump as far as she could, but a leaf sliced against her back and she landed in a heap. Sentos grabbed Dryad by the shoulders and tried to stomp on the writhing mass of roots at the bottom of her trunk, even as they whipped back and forth digging gouges in his legs. He punched Dryad hard in the face and she tumbled backward.

Again gathering all her strength, Tarock smashed the ground with her hammer. "EARTH NEEDLE!" Rocky spikes twelve feet long, the longest she'd ever managed, erupted from the ground and jabbed into Dryad's sides. But the monster just pushed herself upright and snapped through the spikes like dry twigs. Desperation gripped Tarock, and she launched herself at the Dryad's trunk again. "GRAND IMPACT!" she screamed. A blazing pentacle appeared on the Dryad and the Gran Crusher smashed down on its center. Giant hunks of bark went flying.

And Dryad swatted her way. Sentos charged up and landed a punch where Tarock's attack had hit but Dryad just spread her massive arms and shining red spores flew from her fingertips that exploded as they hit Sentos in the chest and knocked him onto his back.

And at the edge of Avalon's defensive wall Sue and Phebos watched through the giant cracks. "It's impossible! That thing's too much for them!" Sue said in fear.

"Tarock is more powerful than you realize," Phebos corrected her, his voice still unnervingly calm even as Avalon's only defenders were blasted about by their seemingly unstoppable enemy. "But the form of Pentacles draws its powers from earth, as does a Dryad. She fights an uphill battle." He looked over but Sue was gone, and Phebos smiled slightly. "Catches on quick, that one."

Lungs aching from her sprint, Sue stumbled into Doxo's no longer secret museum. He was kneeling over a painting that had been torn by flying debris. "This can't be happening," he mumbled. "The Mythos were destroyed! How can they be back?! This shouldn't be possible…"

Sue ignored him and picked up one of the spears and swung it at the cylinder housing the Card of Cups. A shard grazed Doxo's cheek and he looked up in surprise while Sue took the card. "She was right, you know. You've got a future to think about too." Then Sue was running off and running again. In the back of her mind she was aware her lungs were burning but there was too much at stake to worry about an asthma attack. By the time she'd gotten to where Phebos was still waiting, Dryad was battering the dome with her roots while beyond her Tarock tried to drag herself to where her hammer lay. Sentos raised a huge rock over his head and smashed it down on Dryad's shoulders and his persistence finally seemed to annoy her enough to draw her full attention. She turned and let a barrage of leaves fly from her hair that sliced into the stone giant.

"Liss!" Sue screamed, holding her prize high over her head. "I've got the card!" All of a sudden the dome faded away, and Sue threw the card. Tarock caught it, glanced at the back, slid it into her Fate Driver.

"Cups Suit!" it roared. A yellow image of the card floated down over her, replacing her green armor with a yellow breastplate, gauntlets and boots, and a new mask with a wing-like design outlining her eyes. Like before this new form felt different than the others. Not as strong, but lighter, faster.

Above her Dryad had seized Sentos in a one-handed stranglehold and was bringing back the other arm, wooden fingers aimed at the stone giant's head like spears. Tarock passed her left hand in front of her Fate Driver for her new weapon and a glove with spray jets in the fingertips, the Sea Hand, formed over it. She aimed at Dryad's arm as the monster thrust it at Sentos's face. "Jaws of Frost!" A blast of white shot up and spread over Dryad's arm coating it in a sheet of ice. Sentos punched at it and the arm snapped off. The tree-monster opened her mouth and a scream of pain tore the air. She swept her arm and sprayed a cloud of her explosive spores but Tarock counterattacked.

"Aqua Burst!" A jet of water sprayed from Tarock's fingers and she waved it back and forth, knocking the spores away before they could get near her. She jumped and fired off another from closer range, a chill on her arm guiding her aim. Pieces of bark were blasted off by Tarock's attack exposing vulnerable white wood underneath that caved in under the force. Dryad screamed as Tarock came back to earth and the mass of roots surged out to crush her, but Tarock grabbed the bladed bracelet from her belt, the Rend Brace and it locked itself around her right wrist. The sky seemed to go dark from the writhing roots fell toward her. Tarock jumped back with an agility she'd never had before, then as the roots surged at her along the ground she jumped, flipped in the air and held out her hands to grab onto the Mythos's trunk.

Quickly she looked up at Sentos, who nodded once and grabbed Dryad around the waist and held on even when the Mythos monster stabbed her sharp fingers into his back. Tarock jumped for where she'd battered Dryad's body with her water blast and aimed the point of her bracelet at it now. "Tethys Cutter," she said and a long blade of watery energy formed from the tip, which she swung and cut into the Mythos's body. A huge hunk of wood fell off and she could just see the curve of a throbbing blue sphere. Tarock landed on the Mythos's trunk and then jumped stabbed her arm with the Rend Brace up to the elbow into the monster's heart.

A scream even louder and more horrible than Dryad's last seemed to push Tarock even farther away as she jumped to safety. She thrashed back and forth as she started to dissolve into bluish mist like the other Mythos Tarock had killed. Her vine hair, her head, her shoulders, her trunk and the web of roots at the bottom finally melted away. The Fate Driver ejected the card and Tarock flickered away, leaving an exhausted Liss Decker in her place.

* * *

Sentos dominated Avalon's skyline against the setting sun, having returned to the form of the city's primary watchtower again. Gashes and dents were visible up and down its height that hadn't been there that morning.

"Will he be all right?" Sue asked. "I mean…I don't know how it works for you guys, but…"

"Sentos will heal," Phebos answered. "If he gets the chance. The Mythos are attacking more and more, and that was the worst yet."

The two of them glanced over at Liss, who was watching as the girl who'd given her her coat finished bandaging a woman's shoulder. "Hey," Liss said, "I didn't really thank you for the presents before, so…thanks."

"Can't save the Sphere if you catch a cold, can you?" the girl grinned.

"Hey, kid. What's your name?"

"Nabelle. Your name isn't really Tarock, is it?"

"No, it's Liss."

Nabelle gasped. "That's my mother's name!"

"Oh yeah?" Liss asked. "She the one who yelled at you to stay out of my way yesterday?"

Nabelle giggled. "That was her!"

"Yeah well, I should go now," Liss said, not sure what else _to_ say. She was exhausted and unsure after her last battle.

"Come back and tell us about the monsters you killed sometime!"

Liss walked over to where Phebos and Sue were watching her. "Hope your boss doesn't mind but I don't think I'm gonna stick around for the victory celebration. I got stuff some stuff to take care of back home," she said. "But one other thing. There was this girl I saw on my way here. She called herself Lost, and she created a monster right in front of me. Said someone's calling her. You might keep an eye out."

Phebos nodded. "That changes a great deal. Thank you, Tarock."

Liss nodded and called to Sue, "Hey, if you're coming, now's the time."

"Totally. I gotta report in," Sue replied and flicked through a couple of her pictures to make sure they were good enough for submission. Liss took the medallion out of her coat pocket and threw it, and it changed back into a metal horse.

Phebos seemed to smile in the darkness of his hood as he said, "Thank you, Tarock. I hope we'll hear many tales of your great battles." Liss just looked at him silently for a minute before she dug her heels into her horse's sides and he galloped away before vanishing in a flash of light.

* * *

Once they were back on Earth, Shift Runner had changed back into a motorcycle. Liss shook her head and managed to tune out Sue's excited gushing about the day's events until they got to her motel.

"I'm gonna send this stuff to my boss, and we can head back tomorrow morning, okay?" Sue asked, not looking up from her photo gallery. Liss nodded and rode off. A few minutes later she pulled up outside Paige's apartment and knocked on the door.

After a minute she could hear Paige's muffled voice. "Who's there? Is it one of those monsters?"

"Kind of," Liss could hear Kelly, her sister's partner, say. "It's Liss. Should I let her in?"

"I heard that!"

The door flew open and Paige pulled Liss in quickly before closing and locking the door behind her. "What's the big deal?" Liss asked at being dragged in. "Did another monster show up when I was gone?"

"No, but plenty showed up when you were still here," Paige answered. "What happened? Everything okay, kid?" She was the only person Liss had ever met who could use that word to describe her and not make it condescending.

"I still can't believe you're encouraging this," Kelly sighed and walked out of the living room. Paige pulled out two chairs from the table and indicated for Liss to sit down. She did, and sighed.

"I don't know if things are okay," Liss groaned.

"Why not?" Paige asked patiently.

"I don't know…I mean, I go there, and everybody's supposed to hate my guts for the old Tarock killing one of the Arcana. One of them tried to kill me for it at school, remember?" Liss asked, and her sister nodded. She went on. "But then I run into some people and they think I'm a big hero. Most of them weren't even mad I couldn't save everyone from a monster. And monsters…there are ones that can turn themselves into people, and I can tell when the others are there but not them. And…and…" She stopped and clutched her head. "And it just feels so weird. Being a hero's supposed to feel awesome, isn't it? With people telling you you're the best, and beating on monsters and psychos, right?"

Is that why you said yes to these people when they asked you to save the world?" Paige asked. "Not just this one, but the one they're from too."

"I thought it would just be cutting loose even more than I was before. They were actually asking me to go out and kill monsters," Liss sighed. "Now, I just…"

"You just can't help thinking about what it's really like, running into people who understand sometimes you can't save everyone. Maybe how these things you're trying to kill are gonna try to kill you back and if you're not careful they probably can," Paige said slowly. Not judging, not insulting her choice, just laying it out bare for her.

A long, silent minute passed. "Yeah," Liss said.

"So are you gonna go back?"

Liss nodded. "Shardak thinks it's really bad, and-" she said, but Paige waved a hand for her to stop.

"Forget what he thinks for a minute. Why do you think _you_ should be risking your life killing monsters?"

There was another thick pause before Liss answered that. It had indeed been a long time since she'd listened to anything any kind of authority had told her, but it had been just as long since she'd had a reason for doing something that wasn't spiteful or defiant. "Because this is too big to walk away from," Liss said. "That's why I have to go back."

Paige nodded then smiled and tousled her sister's hair. "Maybe this'll be good for you after all. When you going back?"

"In the morning," Liss replied "I was gonna go over to mom and dad's and get some clean clothes and stuff first. I was in a hurry last time 'cause I thought I could catch somebody and…this is all I've had for the last couple days."

"Nice coat. You think mom and dad are gonna let you in, though, after all this crap?"

"I'm kinda hoping they got my message to skip town what with the monsters and everything," Liss said.

"Oh, you told them to skip town but not _me_, huh? Thanks a lot!" Paige said in mock offense.

"You already knew! Besides," Liss bit her lip. "I really need you to _not_ skip town, you know? Even though…you know."

Paige nodded. "I know."

"I'll be back soon. And Paige…thanks," Liss got up and left.

* * *

No one answered Liss's knock but her key turned in the lock. The dingy little apartment was much as she remembered it, but all the appliances were gone, and her parents' closet and dresser were empty. Looked like they'd listened to her after all, even though for all she knew they thought she was behind the attack on the school. It didn't matter, they were out of harm's way and she could focus on going back to the Sphere and getting the last card.

Her room was untouched, and she got down her backpack and got a few clean outfits together before pulling up the secret compartment she'd made in the floor of her closet and opened the lockbox inside. There wasn't much inside besides a quarter she thought was lucky when she was seven and a picture of her and Paige smiling and making peace signs at the camera from the family trip to Florida that same year. The only time the Deckers had gone anywhere. Liss looked at it for a while before slipping it into a protective inner pocket.

She'd locked the door behind her more out of habit than anything and was walking back to the street when she froze in her tracks. Standing between her and her bike were a man and woman wearing dark shirts, pants and coats. The woman had white hair that fell past her shoulders and dark eyes that glinted with malice. The man's hair was dark and short and he held up a clenched fist as he glared across the parking lot at her.

"Tarock," they said in unison. "For the good of the people of Sphere, you must die." Then they held up their arms and Liss could see they wore metal wristbands with colored discs in them, black for the woman and white for the man.

"Join!" they yelled in unison and pressed the bands together. There was a short but sharp eruption of cold up Liss's arm as they changed. Glistening armor formed around their bodies out of thin air. The man's was shiny and white with black lines running up the arms and legs and across the chestplate with a darkened visor and a large black I-symbol on his right shoulder. There was a single golden spike sticking straight up from his forehead and a small green gem lodged at the base, identical in color to the large round one in the black belt around his waist. "Donis," he said menacingly.

The woman's was black with white stripes across the legs and chestplate, the visor almost invisible against the rest of her mask. A V-symbol was etched in white on her shoulder armor. Five slanted spikes of silver decorated the brow of her mask with a small blue gem at the base of the central one. Another blue gem, diamond-shaped, was set in the front of a white belt she wore. "Ven," she whispered. "Remember those names."

"Tell Shardak who the Sphere's real saviors are," Donis added.

Just perfect. Right when she was still drained from the fight with the Dryad Mythos. But hell if she'd let them know that. "You want me, come and get me!" Liss said and loaded the Fate Driver.

"Cups Suit!" Her yellow armor solidified over her black undersuit and immediately she donned the Sea Hand and Rend Brace. It seemed more and more like she didn't need to go looking for trouble, it would always find her…

* * *

Next time on Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt…

Ven: Even you can't withstand the kind of power that binds souls…

(Donis and Ven catch Tarock in the middle of a dual attack that causes an explosion)

Liss: I've withstood a hell of a lot so far.

(Jack walks through a cavern of brightly-colored stones)

Jack: Some of your predecessors received their powers from these.

(Tarock rides across a field of ancient ruins following something that starts as sphere, shifts to a cube and then a pyramid)

Narrator: Your fate is in your hands.

* * *

**I realize this one was a little long and I apologize, but it had some stuff I didn't think could wait to be covered. Also, we see what Liss would've had to fight if she'd taken the people into the forest. Maybe a good thing she just had to fight the Roc then, huh?**

**Also, seems Liss has even more enemies than she thought, but it looks like a few unexpected friends, too. We'll see what happens as the fight with the Mythos picks up, and pick up it will…**


	8. Chapter 8: Riders' Legacy

Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt – Reading Eight: Riders' Legacy

Disillusioned youth Liss Decker found herself in possession of an artifact allowing her to transform into Tarock, a being of awesome powers, after the sudden appearance of supernatural beings in her city. Seeing an escape from her oppressive everyday life, she accepted its creator's request to use those powers to fight to become the hero of the Sphere, the strange tiered world he calls home, and save it from the evil creatures menacing its people.

Expecting mainly enemies, Liss's years of self-righteousness were shaken when she was welcomed as a savior by a group of refugees and a potential ally by one of the Sphere's primary rulers. After helping to save his city from a gigantic monster, Liss acquired the third of four cards necessary to access Tarock's full abilities. After a return to her hometown to prepare for a longer stay on the Sphere, Liss found herself being attacked by a pair of warriors intent on keeping her from harming the people of that other world…

* * *

Tarock had barely finished arming herself before Ven and Donis were charging her. They landed a dual punch her chest that knocked her five feet before she landed hard on her back. The next thing she saw was each of them aiming a jump-kick at her throat.

"Tethys Cutter!" Tarock yelled and slashed with the blade of blue energy that jumped from the tip of her bracelet. She caught Ven and Donis across the chest and knocked them away, giving her time to get up. It hadn't had the length or sheen it had when she'd been fighting the Dryad Mythos, but she'd been putting everything she had into those attacks, and what she had now wasn't much.

Donis got up and started to circle around Tarock as he looked for an opening, but Tarock flicked her glance over her shoulder trying to spot Ven, whose black armor was almost invisible in the dwindling light. Suddenly Donis ran at Tarock and spin-kicked her in the back. Tarock shouted in pain and turned as quickly as her aching limbs would allow and cried "Jaws of Frost!" A thin sheet of ice formed over Donis's armor, but cracks were already stretching across it. It wouldn't matter as long as she could make it to the bike, then she could travel to the Sphere and have a whole world to lose them in. Tarock started toward where she'd parked Shift Runner…

…and a pair of lights she only had a second to recognize as the crystals in Ven's armor came shooting out of the darkness at her before Ven stabbed her in the chest with a pair of metal blades on the wrists of Ven's black armor. "Aqua Burst!" Tarock battered her enemy back a step, then another step, then another with the blast of water.

But Ven crouched and lunged forward, catching her in the chest with one blade at the same moment Donis threw a blazing punch at Tarock's back. As one they cried, "Twilight Convergence!" and everything seemed to explode around her.

Tarock was blown through the air to land next to Shift Runner, her armor flickering away. Anxiously she checked the Fate Driver and her form card, and to her relief they looked undamaged. As the two armored warriors loomed over her, it looked like the same couldn't be said for Liss for very long.

*BOOM!*

A swarm of tiny explosions erupted over her attackers' forms. Ven and Donis seemed more annoyed than hurt, but the hulking black man holding a smoking shotgun didn't seem intimidated by them. "You okay, kid?" he asked in Liss's direction.

"I'll live," she coughed. "But not if I catch another hit like that."

"Then get going to somewhere safe," he said. Ven seemed to glare at him and raised a wrist-blade, but Donis stepped in front of her.

"We're only here to deal with one troublesome outsider, and that's Tarock," he said.

Liss climbed up onto her bike, the man still pointing his gun at the unimpressed Ven and Donis. "Why are you doing this?" she whispered while she started the engine.

"Because of those eyes," he said. "I got two girls say someone who had big yellow eyes saved 'em from a giant bat."

Liss squinted. "Sensei?" The man just nodded. "Tell Paige Decker I'm sorry I had to leave all of a sudden," Liss said then roared off, speed and escape the only thing on her mind. There was a burst of light in front of her as she left Earth behind and reappeared on a darkened road with tall yellow grass on either side.

Shift Runner hadn't changed into a horse like it had the last time she'd come to the Sphere, but that was at the back of Liss's mind. She needed to find a place to hide and recover before anymore battles. After a few miles the grass thinned out and she spotted a cluster of trees away from the road. She pulled in there, found a soft-looking patch of ground and collapsed on it.

Before Liss drifted off to sleep, she thought about how the morning was sure to bring new battles for her life and the lives of thousands, millions even of people she didn't know. Thinking of the daily slog through interactions with people who hated her and who she hated right back that used to be her life, she didn't regret her choice to pick up the Fate Driver. Here she might have enemies, but she finally had _more_ than enemies. And considering everything that had been thrown at her so far, she _wasn't_ doing so bad.

_At least, I hope_, she thought as sleep claimed her.

* * *

Finally the rippling and bobbing of flight between the worlds ceased and Ven and Donis found themselves gliding through the sky over a range of hills on the middle level of the Sphere. They passed a fortified town near a dirt road, but there was no trace of Tarock. They lowered to the ground and flashed back to normal.

Nema and Lurian exchanged a strained glance. The turbulence they'd run into while flying back from the outside was nothing compared to the simmering tension in their eyes. After a second their bracelets flashed and shook, and their looks became even more anxious.

"Maybe we shouldn't answer," Nema said. "They're not going to be too pleased we let Tarock get away."

"They'd be even less pleased to hear we slaughtered someone trying to get to her," was Lurian's clipped reply. Glaring at him Nema touched her bracelet to his and an image appeared in front of them. It was of the bizarre sight of a man and woman floating in midair, their hands physically melded together, as well as their legs just below the knees. They were one of the Arcana, powerful if bizarre immortal beings. "Hello, Mila and Felco," Lurian said, bowing his head.

"Have you located Tarock?" the woman of this strange pairing asked.

"Yes," Nema replied, "and we were about to deal with her when another outside interfered. Lurian prevented me from attacking."

The male half of the strange synthesis was the one to reply. "It was for the best. You are to be the Sphere's champions, not mindless slayers who go antagonizing the outside. Slay _our_ foes, _that_ is why you were bestowed our power!"

The female half said next, "Here is the first portion of what we promised."

The image flashed and turned into energy that beamed into their eyes, and suddenly they were somewhere, some_when,_ else.

They were by a sparkling stream, sitting in the shade of an ancient tree. Lurian had on the blue and gold uniform he'd gotten for making into Mazones's War Academy. Nema had on that red dress with the black edging her big sister had given her, and they were waiting for her family to meet them. Nema looked up and met Lurian's eyes, and he smiled softly as he looked back.

"Congratulations," she said again.

He laughed. "I'm more worried about meeting your parents, with all the things you've said about your mother, than anything I've got to look forward to in the army."

"She's…she's something all to herself, that's true," Nema giggled. She reached out and cupped his cheek, and Lurian gently cupped her wrist.

He said, in measured words, "So are you."

Slowly Nema withdrew her hand. "Lurian…," she whispered. They started leaning closer together.

Then there was a flash and they were back in the present. Nema and Lurian gave each another sidelong glance, this one far more uncertain than angry.

* * *

A persistent buzz slowly stirred Liss from her sleep. She rolled onto her back, afraid she was about to be attacked, then realized it was coming from where she'd stashed the Fate Driver inside her coat. Pulling it out she could see the image of Shardak, the bodiless wizard who'd created her powers long ago, shimmering above the crystal ball in the middle.

"Liss! There you are at last! Did everything go all right with the emperor?" he asked.

"He was nicer than I expected, and I got the card. Right after that two other guys attacked me, Ven and Donis. They changed into armor like I do. You know anything about that?"

Shardak frowned. "I don't, but it wouldn't surprise me if another of the Arcana had empowered champions of their own."

"But possible," Liss reminded him. "Which is why I need to find the last card right away."

The wizard looked at her with disapproval. "Your zeal is appreciated but there's another thing I'd like to request of you first. Not far away is something we need secured. Jack will meet you there and tell you where to find the fourth card."

Liss sighed as he gave her the directions. Wasn't this supposed to a partnership? Didn't that mean she got some kind of say in what they did, instead of him ruling over her by withholding information until he decided it was time? Still, he only wanted this one thing, and he hadn't said anything about any really badass Mythos in the area. How much of a hassle could it be?

As soon as she had the last card, though, Liss planned to have a pointed discussion with Shardak about the one of them doing all the dangerous stuff having more input. She rode into the field Shardak had directed her to until she spotted the ruins of a town a half mile or so off. There were still thin plumes of smoke rising from the shattered houses…a Mythos had probably been through not too long ago after all. Liss stopped at the edge of a small cliff, one with a mine entrance at the bottom.

Liss shivered but tried to hide it out of instinct as she went inside. She didn't like being underground, but supposed it was something she'd better get used to if she was going to do this for real. At first the walls were just bare rock, but as Liss went deeper small, colorful gems peeked out of the walls and got bigger as she went. "Is anybody here?"

Suddenly something whistled through the air at her head but Liss grabbed it and wrenched it out of its owner's hands. A shovel. Not surprising considering the dirt-streaked face and dusty clothes of the man who'd tried to attack her could only belong to one of the miners. Two others ran up and dragged him away from Liss.

"I apologize for my friend," one of the miners said. "We were expecting a monster. What are you doing here?"

"I'm the new Tarock. And I don't appreciate it when people try to bust me upside the head with shovels."

The one who'd taken a swing at her asked. "Where were you last night, Tarock? When the monster was smashing our town into rubble?"

"Fighting for my life," Liss answered. "Sorry, even Tarock can only be in one place at a time."

"_Anyway_," the other miner interrupted. "Thank you for coming even if it's a little too late. I'm surprised the Mythos didn't pay any attention to the mine."

"What exactly do you guys mine here?" Liss asked.

"Gems with special powers. Very, very special powers."

Liss nodded. "That sounds real important, now I understand why he sent me here," she said, and then suddenly turned and smashed her fist into the face of another miner creeping up on her with a knife. He hit the ground and convulsed, turning into one of the faceless white Mythos that could disguise themselves as other people. Immediately Liss locked the Fate Driver around her waist and loaded it

"Pentacles Suit!" The three miners were pushed back by the rush of power created by Liss's change into Tarock. Before the green armor had even finished forming over the undersuit they flickered and changed into more of the faceless Mythos themselves, and she already heard a snarl from something else behind her. Two of the Mythos grabbed her by the arms but she easily threw them off. The last raced at her with a pickaxe but Tarock passed her hand in front of the Fate Driver and her warhammer appeared. They swung at the same time but the Mythos's blow was knocked aside and the Mythos itself caught Tarock's hammer on his chest and slammed into the wall.

Then without warning a group of them came charging down the tunnel and jumped on top of Tarock, forcing her to the ground. But raw strength filled her body in this form and she struggled to just plant her hands, knowing it would be easy to throw them off once she did, but she didn't get the chance. Something huge and heavy crashed down onto her back, through all the monsters piling on top of her. Tarock yelled out and shoved herself up, throwing the weaker Mythos off her.

Looking down at Tarock was tall and green Mythos with warts and bumps all over his body. Beady eyes glared at her over a hooked nose and a mouth of sharp, uneven teeth. In his beefy hands with a stone club that he swung at Tarock's head, but she knocked it away with her hammer and smashed the Mythos again and again on his chest and one shoulder, forcing him to drop his weapon. She shoulder-checked him in the stomach but he hardly budged a step before grabbing her by the arms and threw her down the tunnel. Tarock smacked into a wall and slid off covered in blue gem dust.

The Mythos roared as he came charging at her, club high over his head. She could've easily pinned him in place with her Terra Bind, or impaled him with her Earth Needle, or even knocked him clean out of the tunnel with an Earth Fist. But after all the bashing around she'd taken yesterday, Tarock opted for something much simpler. She dodged the monster's wild swing, jumped up and punched him as hard as she could right in the face. His head jerked back and she hit him again in the stomach and he stumbled backward. Then she joined her hands and brought them down hard on the Mytho's neck. There was a crack and he roared in pain.

He turned and grabbed Tarock's shoulders and squeezed. Tarock's armor creaked but she grabbed his wrists and shoved him off, then gathered her strength for her next strike. "Temblor PUNCH!" The punch connected with the monster's chest and blasted it back down the tunnel, blue smoke coming off his body as he flew. A second after he landed outside there was nothing left.

And that was fine with Liss.

* * *

A half hour later Liss was sure no-one was hiding in the mine and the town beyond, Mythos or survivor. There weren't even any traces of bodies, and edgy as she was already, Liss tried not to think what that implied. She was waiting by the entrance to the mine when the air seemed to stretch for a second and there was a feeling of cold on her hand, then someone appeared on the rim.

"Greetings, Liss! You seem to have kept busy since our last meeting!" said a man in bright white and green clothing, tweaking his Robin Hood hat down over his face and standing his hobo stick against the ground. It was Jack, one of the Arcana as well as one of Shardak's few allies.

"Hey, Jack? You got something for me?" she replied.

He jumped down to meet and then reached into his bundle to produce a red card with a golden sword emblem on the front. It was another of Tarock's form cards, finally repaired after a disastrous defeat. She felt a little safer, a little stronger, to have it back. "So, what's so special about these jewels you need me to make sure they're safe before I go looking for the last card?"

"Many of them have special qualities," Jack answered, then stopped. Liss scowled.

"No, damn it, that's not enough. You guys want me to be your champion or whatever and do all the dangerous stuff, you can sure as hell keep me in the loop better than that. This is your world you guys want me to save, not mine. Let me know what's going on!"

Jack nodded sympathetically. "Agreed, Liss, we have not told you everything, but as you say, this is our world. You demonstrated a strength and resolve that were ideal for being Tarock, but you were not a choice we were familiar with and I hope you won't take offense that your outlook is perhaps dubious for someone we are hoping to be an example to our people."

"You and Shardak sound exactly the same," Liss mumbled and crossed her arms. "So are you guys firing me or what?" she asked, but Jack shook his head.

"I don't know that we can afford the time, and like it or not you've already established yourself with that battle at Avalon. But let me defend Shardak's decision to withhold the location of the last card. It's in the ruins where the first Tarock had his final battle with the Mythos, and those ruins aren't far from Mazones, which is home to most of the Arcana who consider Tarock a danger," Jack patiently explained.

"And what about the jewels?" Liss said. "You guys gonna give them to people for those Mythos alarms?"

"Come with me," Jack said with a smile and led Liss back into the mine. He gestured at the large gems in the walls, red in one section, yellow in the next, then green, blue, purple… "These Ora Stones have many remarkable properties when harnessed correctly. They can be used to detect disguised Mythos, for one, they can serve as amplifiers for power, and they were what gave the holy relics of the four tribes the special powers that your cards now hold."

Liss looked over the gems, not doubting they could contain potent power after all the things she'd seen. "Those look like the jewels those guys who attacked me before I came back to the Sphere had…"

"Those two flying around?" Jack asked. "I'd watch out if you're who they're looking for. They look like they won't stop until whatever they're after's completely wiped out."

"Flying? Can _I _fly?" Liss asked.

"Not to the best of my knowledge."

Sighing, Liss waved it off. "I can handle them, I was just too worn out last time."

Jack nodded simply. "But there's more to the Ora Stones, Liss. A few of them even found their way to your world, and were used to empower other warriors not unlike Tarock. Mostly in a place called 'nee-pon', I believe.

"Some stones were fashioned into medals used to house the powers of beasts, or rings that empowered sorcerers. Two were even formed into a matched pair, something to do with the sun and moon and their wearers fighting to the death to determine the ruler of the world. Does any of that sound familiar?"

"Maybe," Liss said, looking away thoughtfully. "Guys from something called…Gorgon? I always thought Sensei was making that up…"

"Making what up, Liss?" Jack asked.

She shook her head but answered. "This guy who taught me kung-fu when I was a kid. He used to live in Japan and he talked about some terrorists called Gorgon, or something like that, and how they had monsters working for them. He said they were supposed to have two guys fighting to be the leader. He showed every new class this huge scar on his back and he said a giant bat gave it to him when he was trying to get out of the country."

Jack set down his stick then held out one hand palm up and an image of a figure in black armor from head to toe, with bug-like antennae on his forehead and a pair of huge red eyes on his mask appeared. In Jack's other hand another figure, this one in silver with large green eyes, appeared. Both raised their fists and then started to punch, kick and dodge the other's attacks as Jack went on.

"It's all too true, Liss, and there are many stories like it. Of brave people with great power who fought powerful enemies." The black and silver fighters disappeared and were replaced by an image of another with a red mask, yellow on his arms and green on his legs fighting his way through a group of monsters that looked like thin mummies. "Much was at stake, and for many their battles cost them dearly."

"I can handle it," Liss replied.

"Oh?" Jack said, and let it hang in the air. The image changed again to a figure in blue suit under silver armor with an image of a spade on the chest. He wielded a long sword against a monster that looked like a huge bat, not unlike the one she'd fought herself. Then he was replaced by another, green on his right side and black on his left who punched and kicked away attackers in black business suits with luchador masks that had a white rib cage design from top to front. "I know your world glorifies the way of the warrior, Liss. But remember the fate of your predecessor, poor Mesho. Even the first Tarock didn't survive to tell us what he saw in his final battle."

Oh, so he was trying to psych her out, was he? See if she'd back off when he told her how hard it was for the ones who'd come before her. Well, he could forget it. She hadn't exactly been getting by on her good looks before, and she'd beaten that giant Mythos yesterday.

"You're not scaring me out of this, Jack."

Jack placed a hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps I was asking you to ask yourself if this is truly the kind of life you want."

"Maybe I don't have many other options."

"There are always options," Jack smiled, "but if you're set on your course you see it's important we made sure these Ora Stones were safe. That Mythos were here means they know what the stones can be used for and had plans for them. These are not mindless beasts."

"I kind of got that when they singled me out at school," Liss replied. "But thanks for explaining that. What do they want 'em for, though?"

"I shudder to imagine," Jack answered.

"Okay then…where's the last card? Exactly."

"Ride west until you come to one of the crystal shafts. When you reach the end, ride to the mountains you see. There's a pass with a rock that looks like a wolf's head near it. Follow that and you'll find the ruins, and within the Card of Wands. Be careful."

Liss nodded. "Thanks, Jack. See you around."

"You will," he said as she walked back out of the mine. A second later he heard her motorcycle roar to life and fade into the distance.

It was a pity. Someone so young, so strong but so conflicted already. Was it right to continue to ask her to be their envoy, yet did they dare change their course with what she'd already accomplished in their world as well as her own and how much time was against them?

A thought came over Jack and he pried loose one of the gems, a brilliant green one. Maybe there was a way to get more help for their cause…

* * *

Darkness was setting in by the time Liss found the rock Jack was talking about. She took the pass slowly, expecting Mythos to jump out of every shadow. The thought of a Mythos attack ate at her as she rode farther and farther down the road. So far it had only happened when she was there, but people from the Sphere didn't seem to have much trouble getting to her hometown back on Earth. What if they _did_ do something when she wasn't there and attacked someone who wasn't her? What if Ven and Donis did? Was Shardak expecting her to only think about the people on _his_ side?

A few minutes later the pass emptied out into a small valley full of jagged columns and stone blocks laying wherever the forces of nature had left them after years of neglect. Liss rode around the debris looking for anything that stood out. A pedestal. A standing building with a sturdy door. Finally her headlight stopped on a flight of stone stairs descending into the ground.

That had to be it, didn't it? Liss pondered waiting until daylight before going down. At least she'd be rested up before she faced whatever was down there. But the longer she waited, the longer it would be before she was at full power and ready as she could possibly be for whatever the Sphere decided to throw at her next.

While she thought it over, a pair of glowing objects appeared in the sky overhead and started to grow larger and larger as they grew closer. Liss tensed and ducked behind a wall as they stopped and hovered over the ruins, probably having spotted her bike. One of the lights was bright white, and the other was a stark black that stood out against the deep blue of the night sky.

Ven and Donis.

After hovering a few seconds more they started to descend, and Liss vaulted the wall and dashed to where Shift Runner was parked. It shimmered and changed to a medallion again that Liss stowed in her coat before bolting down the stairs. She'd give them the fight they wanted when _she_ decided. At the bottom was a stone room with a passage leading away. Liss started toward it but there was a blinding flash of white light and Donis was blocking it. Not to Liss's surprise Ven was between her and the stairs.

The familiar urge to defend herself started to well up inside Liss, but she stopped herself. _Couldn't_ she stand to have a few less people gunning for her? Maybe she could talk her way out of this, and get them to see they wanted the same thing. "Why are you guys after me?" Liss asked as she slowly got out the Fate Driver. "I want to kill Mythos so they don't kill people, isn't that what you guys want too?"

"We want to save the Sphere," Donis said. "From all its threats."

"Why don't you ask that Emperor Solymen guy? I killed a huge Mythos attacking his city. That something somebody who wanted to kill the Arcana would do?"

"Solymen is weak," Ven said, unmoved. "The Sphere is at war with one enemy already, we don't need Shardak plotting in the shadows too."

"Do you guys even-"

"Enough talk!" Ven roared.

Liss locked the Fate Driver on her waist. If that was how it had to be, she wasn't about to roll over die for these two. "Swords Suit!" Thick red armor solidified on her undersuit and as soon as it did she passed her hand in front of her belt and the hilt of a sword appeared from it. She grasped the haft and a pair of crossbars slid from the center, and a glistening blade flashed into being atop it.

Then Ven rushed at Tarock, jabbing and slashing with the blades on her armor's wrists. She landed a slash across Tarock's chest, but Tarock spun with the momentum of the blow and slashed Ven in retaliation across the back. Sparks flew and Ven cried out, then whispered, "Ven Split." Her form blurred and then turning to face Tarock were _three_ black-armored warriors.

As one they surrounded Tarock and slashed, punched and kicked at her again and again. Gathering her strength Tarock swung her sword in a circle around her. One Ven ducked, the second jumped over the blade, but the third was taken by surprise and knocked on her back. Tarock took her chance and jumped through the opening she'd created by knocking down the one Ven. But as soon as she did Donis landed next to her from a jump and delivered a vicious chop to the wrist of the hand holding her sword.

Tarock yelled as her entire arm went numb and her sword dropped from her hand. Donis aimed another chop at her other shoulder but Tarock dodged to the side and grabbed the Rend Brace from her belt. "Thunder Lash!" she screamed and cracked the electrical whip as soon as it appeared. It hit Donis square in the chest, causing him to cry out and sink to one knee. The three Vens ran at Tarock wailing like banshees but she cracked the whip in an arc and sparks flew from their chest plates.

Quickly Tarock bent down and swept up her sword in her left hand. She didn't like the idea of fighting four opponents with her strongest weapon in her off hand, but it was still the only one she could feel. Desperately she considered her options as Ven and Donis closed in, then suddenly spotted something behind them. It was a floating cube the size of a baseball, but as she watched it shift into the shape of a pyramid and flitted back and forth in front of one section of the wall.

"Bladestorm!" Tarock screamed and swiped her sword with all her might, unleashing a barrage of shining daggers that battered at Ven and Donis. She took a running jump and somersaulted in the air above them and landed where the floating shape indicated. Glad for any escape she might get Tarock slashed her sword into the wall and the stone fell away revealing another passage. The shape nipped into the darkness and Tarock followed, hoping it would lead her closer to the last card.

She didn't notice the faint form slinking through the shadows behind her.

* * *

The guard squatted closer to the watchtower beacon. Nights seemed to be getting even colder since reports of the Mythos's return had come trickling in. They were so remote, no help would be coming in time if a Mythos did. And he certainly didn't like their chances if one did attack.

He sighed and huddled closer, scanning the darkened terrain with aching eyes. His stiff bunk in the barracks was seeming like a featherdown bed in the emperor's palace ever since they'd ordered extra sentry duty in case a monster should attack.

But then, he spotted a hint of movement some fifty yards from the edge of the town wall and ran as fast as he could to the alarm bell and rang it for all he was worth. Another group of guards ran out, weapons drawn, but returned slowly a few minutes later, and carrying an emaciated teen girl in a ragged robe between them.

"What's your name, little one?" one of the villagers asked.

"I am…Lost. Water," she whispered hoarsely. "Please, just let me have some water."

"Of course, little one, of course," she was told while the bucket was brought up from the well. "You can tell us all about what happened once you've got your strength back." They filled a tin cup with water and Lost gratefully grabbed it and started gulping down the contents.

In the dim light of the torches and lanterns no-one noticed the black rivulets seeping from her palms.

* * *

Next time, on Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt…

Donis: We'll find you wherever you run, Tarock.

(Liss enters a stone crypt with an open sarcophagus)

Liss: What else was down here?

(Shadows watch Liss, Ven and Donis as they search the ruins but scatter as a red-eyed shape walks among them)

Ven: What could possibly drive her to fight so hard?

(Tarock appears in a new form with light blue armor, carrying a metal rod)

Jack: (amused) Perhaps she fights to find out for herself.

Narrator: Your fate is in your hands.


	9. Chapter 9: Lurking in the Dark

Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt – Reading Nine: Lurking in the Dark

So far on Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt…

Delinquent Liss Decker found herself caught between combatants from a strange alternate world called the Sphere, and afterward found herself with the ability to transform into Tarock, a warrior of awesome powers. Tarock's creator asked Liss to become a champion for his people, who were being plagued by a resurgence monstrous beings they call the Mythos. Mainly seeing an escape from her oppressive everyday life, Liss agreed.

But as she battled the Mythos and searched for the special cards that were the keys to unlocking each of Tarock's special powers, Liss found her years of self-righteousness shaken by the gratitude of the people she ended up helping. Confused, and on the run from a pair of warriors from the Sphere bent on her death, Liss's only goal now is to find the last of the cards she needs and then figure out her next move. As she heads underground in search of it with her enemies close behind, Liss doesn't know how much more than her last card waits in the tunnels below…

* * *

The strange shape that had identified the secret passage to Tarock flitted ahead as she dashed through the tunnel after it. The tunnel curved multiple times and more than once she had to jump over piles of dirt and stone that had fallen from the ceiling. How long had it been since anyone had been down there?

Another turn and the shape led her into a wide ovular room. There were two exits on opposite ends and she looked to the shape for guidance, but it just hovered in the middle of the room. "Damn it, they're gonna be here any second!" she chided it, but the shape flew closer and circled around her belt buckle.

Was it trying to tell her something? Like to deactivate her powers? That seemed suicidal with Ven and Donis right behind her, but…what if they could sense Tarock, like she could sense Mythos? If she did change back, then maybe she could give them the slip. She'd certainly learned the value of being able to fool her enemies over the last couple years. If not, though…

The card ejected and Tarock faded away, leaving Liss Decker in her place. She felt naked without her armor, but ducked into a shadow behind a fallen column and waited. Ven and Donis dashed into the room a second later then looked around.

"Where'd she go?" growled Ven.

"Don't know, can't feel her around anymore," Donis answered her. "I'll go this way, you go that way." Their armor shimmered with energy and they flew down the passages leading away.

Once she was sure they weren't coming back Liss stood up again. The shape darted to her side, did a few loops to get her attention and then drifted toward the tunnel Donis had taken. Well, if she had to meet either of them again she'd probably choose the less psycho one, even if she knew less about his powers. Liss followed, but said, "This better not be some kind of trick.  
The shape spun faster a few times before it continued to lead the way, and Liss got the impression of laughter.

* * *

A piece of gravel skittered across the road. Sue Gand watched it roll, then sighed and looked away. The story of the century had just slipped through her fingers. Apparently Liss Decker had never made it back to her sister's place the night before; she'd retreated to the Sphere after being attacked two people in black and white armor. Without Liss she had no way of getting there herself and keep up with what was going on.

She should've never let that kid out of her sight.

As Sue turned a corner toward that one diner she'd noticed to see if they had a good dinner menu, she almost collided with a man in paint-splattered coveralls carrying a ladder on one shoulder.

"Sorry, lady!"

Curiously, Sue peered around the corner and saw a flaking mural painted on the side of the building. It looked like it was once an image of a skyline, and it was only really clear on the edge closest to the corner where they were standing. After looking for a second Sue realized it was clearer because that part had much fresher paint on it.

"Ah, touching up the picture, huh?" Sue asked.

He smiled a little and nodded. "Been meaning to forever but just never cared enough to make the effort. After, well…"

"After what?" Sue pressed.

"Well, after whoever that was killed that bat monster at the high school and that scorpion down by the bridge…," he shrugged, and the ladder clattered. "Just seemed like I'd been putting it off long enough."

"Have a good night," Sue said and walked on. He smiled and waved her goodbye before going on his way. Sue wandered to the little restaurant she was headed to before, wondering a little more at what was going on.

The restaurant wasn't hard to find, but only two older men were there as she came in, sitting in one of the booths and telling mumbled stories and laughing over beers. Sue took a seat in the corner and looked at the scuffed menu on the table without really seeing it. A waitress came up a minute later.

"Can I get you anything, miss?"

"Um, I'm still deciding," Sue said. "I know it's kind of late but could I maybe get some coffee?"

"Sure thing, miss. I can start a pot if you don't mind waitin' a few minutes."

"No, that'll be fine," Sue answered. The waitress left and Sue was left alone, trying to think of any angle she could follow up on to wring a little more out of her visit to this town. The bell on the door jangled and someone came in. He had dirty blonde hair and a tattered denim jacket on, and a slight look of relief came over him as he spotted Sue.

She recognized him. It was the boy who wouldn't stop trying to impress her with how amazing it had been when his ex-girlfriend put on armor and saved the school from a vampire. But now there were bags under his eyes, his hair was dirty and tangled, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. It was Ben Corland, and he sighed before he walked over and took a seat across from her without waiting for an invitation.

"You," he wheezed. "You're the reporter here to find out about Liss Decker, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know where she is?" he asked, an intensity appearing in his eyes that Sue could tell meant her answer would either fulfill all his hopes, or destroy them. She sighed inwardly before she gave it to him.

"Long answer's kind of, short answer's no," Sue replied.

Ben clenched his fists. "Kind of?" he asked, sounding angry now. "What do you mean, 'kind of'?"

Sue's eyes narrowed. "Why don't you calm your ass down, young man, if you want me to keep talking to you?"

"I _can't_," he said, less angry and more simply desperate now. "_I have to know what's happening to her._"

"And like I said, I don't know," Sue said. "Her sister tells me Liss's old kung fu teacher told _her_ about how two people attacked her last night, and she rode away and hasn't been seen since."

"You didn't say no," Ben reminded her. "You said 'kind of'."

Sue steepled her fingers in front of her face. "She's in a different world, the one where those monsters came from. I don't know how to follow her there; going back and forth is one of her powers."

Ben hissed in frustration and held his face in his hands. "I just want to know if she's okay," he mumbled. Everyone in the little restaurant was staring at the back booth, thanks to the noise from Ben's breakdown. Sue fidgeted and was about to offer whatever condolences she could when the world around her seemed to distort outward for a fraction of a second.

She prepared herself for the worst as she peered out the window to see what had just happened, but was still surprised by what she saw.

* * *

The shape had shifted into the form of a ring turning over and over as it continued to drift down the tunnel ahead of Liss. They'd gone down stairs and around corners for what seemed like hours. There hadn't been any forks in the tunnel as they went, and Liss was a little unsure about how she'd be able to fight Donis off if they caught up to him in this cramped passage. After all, Tarock had been around for a while. He probably knew more about her powers than she did about his.

She shivered unintentionally as she followed the shape. Why was everything underground lately? Would she have to fight a monster in a tiny hallway like this? It didn't matter, Liss told herself. She'd be able to focus, definitely, she told herself. Then shivered uncomfortably again.

The passage emptied out into a chamber almost the size of a football field, but there was no sign of Donis. Then again, other passages dotted the walls and if he still thought Liss was ahead of him he could've gone down any one of them. Liss looked to the shape for guidance but it was rising up toward the ceiling and disappeared as it touched.

The shape drifted through the stone and dirt until it reached the surface where another shape waited. First a golden sphere, then an electric blue netted form, then a bright yellow rhombus. The smaller shape floated up to the larger and disappeared into it, and with that the larger shape flew off.

* * *

Liss looked around the room for some sign of the last card, since this seemed to be where her strange guide had decided she needed to be. The only outstanding feature in the room was the stone coffin or sarcophagus in the middle with its lid leaning against it on one side. There were metal bands with weird symbols on them that looped underneath but had been snapped when it had been opened. There were even curved pieces of stone that looked like they once formed a cage around the empty coffin scattered all over the room.

She winced as even her softest steps echoed down the length of the room. At this rate it wouldn't be long before Donis heard her and came back, so she'd have to find the fourth card fast. Liss crept over to the sarcophagus, but saw no sign of the card inside. For a second she worried that whatever had broken out had taken it with them, but that didn't seem likely. Jack and Shardak might not have told her everything, but they'd never flat-out lied to her.

What if that shape hadn't been leading her to the card, though, but something else? Like what?

Liss checked the room again and spotted a dull blue gem lodged in the roof right above the coffin. She picked up a rock and tossed it at the gem, which fell into her hand. And immediately, Liss wasn't standing in the crypt anymore.

She could see the room she'd just entered, but the coffin was closed with a dome-shaped cage of stone over it. The room was littered with bodies, the only one moving being someone in Tarock's Swords armor. But the armor was burnt and slashed from a heavy battle and only barely recognizable. He kneeled over the cage and chanted something Liss didn't understand. The cage glowed for a second before returning to normal. Gripping his chest, Tarock rose to his feet and staggered into one of the tunnels.

That must have been when after the fight with whatever had started the first Mythos outbreak, and something—or someone—important to it must have been trapped in the coffin. Something even Tarock wasn't powerful enough to destroy completely. But what had it been?

For a long time she only saw the empty room, but all of a sudden a small army of Mythos monsters stomped into view. A hulking blue one with horns and a tiger-striped loincloth grabbed the cage over the coffin. There was a flash of light and the Mythos exploded into blue smoke like they always did upon death, but a hunk of the bar that had been in his hands was gone too.

Another monster, identical to the first except for having bright red skin, marched up to the cage and grabbed it. He exploded too, but another bar was missing when the light cleared.

A third monster, a four-legged, scaly beast like a dragon walked up next. It exhaled a cloud of icy blue gas at the cage, which shimmered and sent the gas back to envelop the Mythos. Almost instantly it froze solid and shattered, but a few of the bars were still coated with frost. A nine-foot-tall, two-headed giant hefted his club and smashed it down where the frost had collected. He burst in a flash, but a gaping hole was left where he'd hit.

So it went. One by one Mythos attacked the cage, either with their bare hands, energy blasts or other abilities. One that looked like the two-legged version of the scorpion Mythos Liss had once fought spat a glob of green slime from his mouth before the cage's protective force rebounded and blew him away. Eventually the cage and the bands around it were shattered. Only one Mythos was left, a strange humanoid with a green face and mass of vines hanging down from his shoulders reaching almost to his knees. They extended out and flipped the lid off the coffin.

Inside was a woman who looked two steps away from being a corpse. Her skin was the same ivory white as her hair and dress. It was hard telling where one stopped and the next started.

But then she opened her eyes. They were coal black with red irises. Even though she knew she was watching something that had already happened, Liss swore the woman was looking right at her.

The woman sat up and held out her hand imperiously for the remaining Mythos to take, which he did and helped her stand. The woman walked quickly and with an inhuman grace toward one of the exits of the crypt.

The scene faded and Liss was in the empty room, holding the gem which had gone totally dark. It was starting to make a little more sense. That woman in the coffin, she was probably the one Lost had talked about, the one who said the horrible things to her she couldn't shut out. If Lost was creating Mythos monsters and a huge group of them had so eagerly given their lives to free the woman in the coffin, who else could it be?

But Liss realized she wasn't alone anymore. Standing in one doorway, visor fixed on her was Donis. "Looks like you found something," he said, then his body was surrounded by light as he came flying at her.

"Pentacles Suit!" the Fate Driver cried and Tarock's armor finished forming only a second before Donis crashed into her. Shouting in frustration Tarock linked her hands over her head and brought them down on Donis's back in a fierce downward smash. Donis fell flat on the floor and groaned. Maybe Liss wasn't a model citizen back home, but what would people from the Sphere care? She hadn't done anything but help people out since getting here, but all anybody could think about was how the original Tarock had killed somebody and she wondered if anyone even knew why. He'd locked up the leader of the Mythos, right? He must've had a reason for killing that one Arcanum…

But even as she summoned her warhammer, Tarock hesitated to pound Donis back to the ground as he was scrambling to his feet. "Why are guys so set on killin' me?" Tarock asked. "For something another guy who had this suit did forever guy? Seriously?"

"That and more," Donis gasped. "The Arcana have promised to give me back my soul mate's love." He attacked then, aiming a chop at her wrist but Tarock twisted to avoid him and his hand struck her side instead. Tarock gasped from a surge of pain but her thick armor in Pentacles Form and not catching it on a joint this time had saved her from the worst of his numbing attack.

She slammed her fist into his chest and staggered him for the second she needed to pound a kick into his chestplate that knocked clear across the room. Donis recovered quickly and came flying back at her, only for Tarock to bat him out of the air with a swing of her Gran Crusher. He rolled a few times, but got to his feet and turned to face her again.

Damn it, the longer the fight went on the sooner it would be before Ven was bound to hear it and come running, and she still had no idea where the fourth card was. _Had_ Jack lied to her just to get her here and maybe see for herself what had happened, knowing the one thing she was really after was the card she needed for her last form?

Donis ran at her unsteadily with an arm raised high, and Tarock jumped, somersaulted in the air and smashed her heel hard into his shoulder. He yelped and fell to his knees, clutching at his shoulder with his other hand. Still he rose, determined to continue the fight.

He didn't get the chance. A dark figure lunged into the room, and for a second Tarock thought it was Ven, until a chill covered her arm right before the intruder plowed into both of them and knocked down. Tarock jumped back up with all the speed her special powers allowed, but while she was down she spotted a small blue rectangle lodged in a crack in the ceiling.

The Mythos snarled but high and triumphantly instead of angrily. He looked like a gorilla with wiry green fur, with curved fangs extending from both jaws. His eyes were a red so deep it actually glowed, and Tarock felt a shiver run down her spine as she got the worrying feeling the woman from the coffin could see her through this monster. He charged her on all fours then threw a punch at her face with a fist the size of a manhole cover. Tarock brought up her free hand and caught it but the Mythos pushed her back foot after foot until she was pinned to the other wall.

He started to bring up his left arm but Tarock smacked his other fist away with an awkward one-armed swing with her Gran Crusher. She smashed it against the Mythos's left shoulder over and over until it was coated with the blue ichor these evil things had instead of blood and the monster was pounded to the floor in submission, breathing but gurgling unintelligibly in pain.

But as soon as the monster was out of her face Donis was on the attack again. His foot flashed out and caught in the back of her knee, and as she expected there was no pain, her leg simply went numb. Tarock slumped into a crouch but as Donis lashed at the back of her neck with a chop she brought up her hammer and blocked his attack on the haft. "You idiot, the Mythos isn't dead yet!" she yelled.

"You think you're a lesser menace than a senseless Mythos. How amusing," Donis replied. He chopped at her neck from both sides at once, but Tarock grabbed his wrists, headbutted him and kicked him to the other side of the room while he was dazed. The Mythos was getting up again, and Ven just flew into the room from one of the doors. This was getting out of hand, and Tarock wasn't going to wait for her enemies to regroup.

"Cups Suit!" The feeling of overpowering strength gave way to a greater agility as her green armor turned to the thinner yellow breastplate, greaves and mask of her Cups Form. Right away she summoned her Sea Hand. She'd need all the firepower she had get for the dash she was about to make. At her feet was the Mythos, still barely conscious, Donis getting up on the right and Ven on the left between her and her goal.

It was as good as hers.

Tarock jumped over the Mythos and broke into a run. Donis had risen and was about to throw himself at her but she aimed the Sea Hand at him. "Aqua Burst!" The high-pressure slammed him into the wall. Ven screamed with rage and charged Tarock, but she aimed at her black-clad enemy next. "Jaws of Frost." A thick wall of ice formed between them and Tarock raced toward the corner where she'd seen her objective.

Then something that felt like a wrecking ball crashed into her back and knocked her flat. As quick as she could Tarock rolled onto her back and pointed the Sea Hand but a giant fist grabbed it in a crushing grip. She screamed in pain as she recognized the Mythos as he tightened the fingers of his right arm around the Sea Hand. The armor started to buckle and crack and Tarock kicked repeatedly at the Mythos's feet with all the strength she had. The Mythos grunted as he lost his balance and his grasp weakened just enough for Tarock to yank her arm free.

She clenched and unclenched the fingers of her left hand carefully and was relieved that they seemed uninjured, but the Sea Hand was cracked and sparks jumped from the jets. The state it was in, she didn't dare try to use it again. The Mythos was getting his feet underneath him, but he didn't get another chance to attack. Ven and Donis flew at him from opposite sides, striking him with their fists, and he was enveloped in an orb of yellow light before exploding into blue smoke. Tarock jumped and stuck her hand into the crack while they were distracted, seizing the blue rectangle, which was a card with a golden image of a two-pronged wand on the front. It could only be the one she'd been looking for.

"You're next, Tarock," Ven said.

Damn. She'd been hoping for some time to study this card more before having to go into battle, maybe even practice a little.

But she knew perfectly well how rarely life accommodated people. And right now, she needed some surprises.

"If you want a piece of me, you'll have to be ready to lose a couple yourselves," Tarock said, then loaded the Fate Driver.

"Wands Suit!" it announced, and the card's image jumped from the crystal dome on the front to drift down over her body, leaving the sparse yellow armor of her Cups Form with even thinner dark blue armored vest, bracers and greaves. The only ornament on her mask was a short blue spike with a tiny green gem in it like the ones set in her bracers and the knees of her greaves. The feeling of power was different again in this form; there was none of the overwhelming strength of Pentacles Form, but she could feel an awesome speed in her waiting to be unleashed.

Ven held one of her wristblades beside her mask and a ray of light traveled up it to the tip. "Enough of this. Now you die, Tarock."

"I couldn't agree more," Donis said. "Shining Strike." His right arm was wreathed in white light and he chopped down at Tarock but she dodged to her left, seeming to simply disappear out of range of his attack. The ground exploded where his hand landed, and she could feel the power she'd just avoided.

"Ven Split!" Ven cried and Tarock readied herself for another pair of opponents, only to see Ven split into five total copies of herself. Tarock knocked one back, but not down, with a kick to the stomach but another jumped and stabbed Tarock in the chest with her wrist blades. Blasts of sparks flew and Tarock staggered into the wall. The gang of black-clad attacks surged forward and Tarock passed a hand in front of her belt to summon this form's weapon, and a blue metal wand, the Pyre Brand, appeared. The next Ven stabbed at her but Tarock knocked her hand away with the wand then spun and smacked her on the side of her shiny black helmet.

Two of them jumped at Tarock with their blades but she darted back and they cracked the floor with their attack instead. Tarock dashed around them in a circle, dragging the Pyre Brand on the ground. In the blink of an eye she'd finished and said, "Ring of Helios." A wall of blue-tinged flames jumped from the circle she'd made and engulfed her attackers.

But even as she was awed by the power she found herself wielding, Tarock found her thoughts turning to escape rather than flattening Ven and Donis. If they were going to have this feud with her it would be when she decided. That, and…they weren't Mythos. She'd wished death on people for giving her a hard time more than once, but that was when they were still only people. Could she do that to someone, someone who thought they were fighting for their world, even if they were being stupid about it and thought she was the problem, Liss asked herself.

Donis came at her from behind at the same time two more Vens rushed at her from the front. Tarock concentrated and the Pyre Brand extended from a wand into a staff and swept it in a wide arc close to the ground, knocking the Vens off their feet. She jumped, flipped and kicked the last one four times before landing, then turned to block Donis's kick at her back with her staff. Tarock clouted him on the side of the head before hitting him on the back of his knees to knock him down. Donis did tumble forward, but turned it into a somersault, came out of it and did a sweep-kick on Tarock that knocked her down and allowed him to pin her arms behind her back.

"Hold her still so we can finish this," one Ven growled. She and two of the others gathered around Tarock while Donis kept her pinned. Their wristblades pulsed with dark energy but Tarock hardly noticed. Behind them she saw something about the size of an apple roll into the middle of the room, then crack open and start seeping a dark puddle.

"The Mytho is still alive!" Tarock yelled.

"Anything to drag out that miserable life of yours," all three Vens said at once.

"Nema," Donis interrupted. "She's not lying, something is happening." The puddle was starting to churn and rise, taking on a humanoid shape but a gigantic stature. It looked like the Mythos, a green-furred gorilla, but twelve foot at the shoulder and its left arm from the elbow down had grown even larger with a fist big enough to cave in the side of a house.

The trio of Vens that hadn't been dispelled by Tarock's fire and Donis flew forward to face the giant. A single Ven ran around to the monster's left but he smashed her against the wall with his oversized fist and she seemed to shatter into black dust. "Shining Strike!" Donis called and punched with a brightly glowing fist at the Mythos's arm. A small plume of blue ooze dribbled down from where Donis had hit, but in the next second the Mythos's arm blurred out and pounded Donis flat.

"Guess I get to try out what this form can really do," Tarock whispered. "Mag Step."

Immediately everything else seemed to stop moving as Tarock ran to the Mythos and kicked him over and over against the arm. Then motion returned and he gargled in surprise and pain to see a score of dents in his arm which were already dripping blue goop. Tarock gasped at how drained she felt just from that one effort. But then the Mythos lashed out at Tarock with his larger arm and she jumped over it, but concentrated hard in the middle of her jump and everything stopped again. She swiped her staff back and forth in the monster's face, trailing blue flame that singed its fur.

To Ven and Donis it looked like a blue blur was assaulting the giant Mythos, attacking in one spot too quickly to be seen then moving away attacking elsewhere before it reacted to the first. The blur landed on the Mythos's back and solidified into Tarock who jumped high, brandished her staff and called, "Dragon's Maw." A jet of blue flame surged from the tip and covered the Mythos's head. It screamed and thrashed but after a few seconds contorted and fell into a heap.

Then it smacked Tarock away.

In mid-air she turned into a blur again but solidified again next to Ven and Donis. "I've got an idea," she said, bracing herself on her staff and trying to hide how much the effort of using this form and being smacked by the monster was wearing on her. "If you guys think I can have those."

"What is it?" Donis asked, speaking over a fiery retort Ven had been about to make.

Ven and Tarock rushed the Mythos as he got up. Ven stabbed a wristblade into his face and black energy burst from it but the Mythos easily swatted her away with his smaller right hand and she shattered before even hitting the ground. Tarock jabbed his arm with her staff, only for the Mythos to smash his larger hand down on her like a hammer, but she turned into a puff of smoke as he did. He didn't notice the blur passing in front of him for just a second.

"Twilight Convergence," Donis and Ven whispered and then flew at the Mythos and rammed their fists into his shoulders. Their energies filled his body as they flew past and out of the way. Tarock came to a stop right behind the Mythos, having completed a full circle.

"Ring of Helios," she whispered raggedly as she poured energy into the circle and a huge ring of fire erupted around the Mythos just as Ven and Donis's attack tore through his massive frame. Pieces fell off and dissolved from Ven and Donis's energy while flame lapped at his arms and legs charring whatever they touched to a crisp that broke even faster. The Mythos screamed and slammed its fists around the room but the three of them retreated to the corners to wait out the monster's demise. Within a minute a faint blue smoke already dissipating into thin air was all that was left.

"We can't forget what we came for her," Ven whispered once the Mythos was totally destroyed. They looked over toward where Tarock was leaning against the wall, but all at once she seemed to burst in a puff of smoke. "We've been tricked!" Ven yelled. "She's gone!"

Indeed she was. With all her might, Tarock forced herself to ignore the pain that seemed to burn from every nerve in her body while she blurred down the tunnels to the entrance of the tomb. This form had powers even more amazing than her others'. But as she'd used the Mag Step and created and sustained double of herself, she'd felt her energy ebbing quickly. Keeping up those powers was a constant drain. And she had no intention of leaving herself totally drained around two people who wanted her dead.

As Tarock made it to the first room even she couldn't ignore the pain of exhaustion coupled with the injuries from her last fight, and collapsed, her armor fading. Fingers trembling she dug into her coat and gasped at the feeling of a warm, wet stain on her shirt. Her right arm wouldn't move, and she had an awful feeling that her last battle had served to reopen most of the injuries she thought she'd just shrugged off after some rest…

She produced the amulet and threw it, and it shimmered into that strange metal horse it could become instead of her bike. Liss hauled herself up into his saddle, and thought one word. Shift Runner was up the stairs and away in an instant.

The word was "Help."

* * *

Liss faded in and out of consciousness several times while Shift Runner carried her along. She saw the sun coming up over the plain before she saw the woman in white from the images looking over her shoulder at Liss and smiling evilly. Liss felt a chill but wasn't sure if it was her power or simple fear.

The woman beckoned and whispered, "Come to me, Tarock. Aid me and your reward will be power ten times that of which you command now," she said in a silky voice.

"I don't sell out to anybody," Liss gurgled. Everything went dark after that until she saw a forest surrounding them. For just a second she thought she saw the woman again, but her head started to feel light, and darkness engulfed her again.

After waking up to see trees a few more times, Liss came to and saw a walled city not far off. It could only be Mazones, home to her biggest non-fans. Everything blurred and she topped from the saddle, landing hard. She reached into her coat, moving agonizingly slowly and pulling out the Fate Driver that she just managed to drop into the bag on his saddle. If she was where she thought she was, being caught with that would be a death sentence.

"Go," she croaked through her dry throat. "I'll call you when I'm ready. If I make it…"

Shift Runner reared and whinnied loudly before turning and galloping off. "What was that?" someone yelled. Liss could hear running footfalls as things started to go black.

"Look, papa! It's a girl, and she's hurt!"

"Quick, Rexia! Run back to town for help!"

Then Liss couldn't hold out anymore, and the darkness claimed her again.

* * *

Next time on Kamen Rider Tarock, Re-Dealt…

Shardak: Where are you, Liss? Could I have asked too much?

(A bandaged Liss lies in front of a fire while an orange-haired teen girl tends to her wounds)

Girl: How did you come to be out so far?

(Ven and Donis slay a winged Mythos)

Ven: It doesn't matter if Tarock has found all her powers, we are the champions of the Sphere!

Female Voice: What are two against thousands…?

Narrator: Your fate is in your hands.

* * *

Well, there we are. It took a hell of a lot of fighting this chapter, but Liss managed to get the last of her cards, and we might have even seen a little deeper into the characters through it.

By the way, the monster the Mythos from this chapter was based on how I saw Grendel from the story of Beowulf. Not as clear as the others, but I don't feel like leaving a possible monster out just because they're not a general, well-known type if they still work well.

And the being whose shape is constantly changing is one we've seen before, if you remember. What's he thinking leading Liss where she needs to be, and what will the rest of the Sphere think if they find out?

Anyway, since Liss has gotten all of her forms, a little summary seems appropriate.

Her henshin device is the Fate Driver. Set in the center is a small crystal ball called the Quartz Eye that materializes her current form's main weapon. Her secondary weapon is the Rend Brace, a bracelet with a large, diamond-shaped blade that can function as a cutting weapon or a small buckler. It also functions as a different weapon specific to each of her four forms.

Swords Form, in red, is Tarock's most basic form that's average at everything. Pretty strong, pretty tough, pretty fast. Her abilities come from the element of wind, and she also has powers from storms and lightning. Her signature weapon is the Skycalibur, a sword four and a half feet long, and her attack with the Rend Brace is the Thunder Lash, an electrical whip.

Pentacles Form, in green, is Tarock's power type. It has massive physical strength and thick armor but trades off in speed and agility, which are the lowest of any of her forms. Fittingly, her powers are related to the element of earth. This form's weapon is a warhammer called the Gran Crusher, and the Rend Brace's power is the Pent Defender that gathers rock into a shield.

Cups Form, in yellow, has strong elemental attacks but lacks in toughness and strength. This form's powers relate to water and ice. This form's weapon is the Sea Hand, a gauntlet with jets in the fingertips that directs most of her attacks. In true glass cannon fashion, she'd lose the ability to use most of her attacks in this form without it. The Rend Brace's attack is the Tethys Cutter, a long blade of watery energy. Also, getting its powers from the element of water, this form is especially agile if Tarock has to fight underwater.

Wands Form, in blue, has the greatest speed but lacks the most in strength and toughness of any of her forms. Its related element is fire. Her weapon in this form is the Pyre Brand, a metal wand that can be used to channel her stronger fiery attacks or lengthen into a staff. In this form the Rend Brace can be used to perform the Zure Divide, which creates illusory duplicates. Being in this form allows Tarock to use short bursts of super speed with its Mag Step power. Her top speed is unknown. While exceptionally versatile, the powers of this form are even more exhausting to Liss than her others because they're a constant drain on her while in use. Used wisely it can be one of her most formidable powersets, but used impulsively it can quickly leave her vulnerable.

And before anyone thinks it, no I did not just take the colors from Wizard and mix them up. I actually based the colors on a tarot villain team from the old Villains & Vigilantes RPG. A scan is up on Tarock's page at Spectrum of Madness, along with lists of Arcana and Mythos to help everybody keep everything straight.

Anybody catch the reference to Rider lore in the order Liss got her cards, by the way? It's easy.

Things are going to settle down for just a little bit in the wake of this chapter. Obviously it's going to be a while before Liss is up for anymore fights, anyway, but that gives me a chance to show some other stuff. Hope you're enjoying the story so far, because it gets even more intense before long.


End file.
